This article was written by Angel

Most of us want to build an enviable six-pack, but performing thousands of crunches without changing the diet and incorporating aerobic and anaerobic exercise is a huge mistake. Spot reduction does not work. You would have to perform 10,000 crunches to lose just 1lb of fat. However, if you incorporate the 10,000 crunches into a fat busting cardiovascular working you will soon start to see great results. For successful weight loss, focus on the body holistically rather than the body parts you dislike.

No number of sit-ups can tone the abdominal region if you refuse to change your diet or incorporate body weight training into your workout. Resistance training adds lean muscle mass to the body, which has excellent benefits to the body. Firstly, it increases the basal metabolic rate (BMR) so your body burns calories long after your workout. Secondly, resistance training sculpts your body and decreases your body fat percentage. However, if all you add to your workout is weights and no cardiovascular, how is the body able to burn off the stubborn fat beneath? Aim to add 1lb of lean muscle mass every four weeks, which is the average size of a bag of sugar.

Why 10,000 Crunches Has No Benefit Without Cardio

Every single person has a six-pack underneath the layers of fat. To reveal this enviable muscle requires determination and discipline. It is possible to strengthen the abdominal muscles, but impossible to spot reduce one specific area without resistance and cardiovascular exercise. Reverse crunches tone the lower abdominals and strengthen the back, while side crunches tone the obliques. If your abdominals are strong but you cannot view the defining muscle, there is a layer of excess fat that you must strip. Aim to perform your usual crunches, but incorporate cardiovascular training, which includes walking, cycling, or running to burn off extra calories.

Spot reduction does not work to burn off fat, but High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) exercise can work wonders. Too much focus on one area could cause muscle strain. Add cardiovascular and anaerobic exercise to build lean muscle mass. A mile of walking burns an average of 100 calories. If you step up the pace and power walk, you will burn more calories per mile than jogging.

Increase The Intensity

It takes time to build up a good level of fitness, but if you want to see positive results, it is time to up the effort and try intensive training. This has two benefits:

1. The exercise time decreases, and the more effort put into your chosen exercise, the greater the rewards.
2. While the intensive workout may not burn as many calories, the effect on your metabolism is huge, and extremely intensive exercise e.g. Tabata Intervals (4-minute workout) could burn calories for up to 48 hours afterward.

If you enjoy walking, try walking at a pace of 4 mph for 1 to 2 minutes then increase the pace to 6 or 7 mph for 1 minute. Correct breathing techniques prevent a stitch.

Successful Fat Burning

To burn off 1lb of fat per week, you should be aiming to reduce your calorie intake by 500 per day. This can be through a reduced calorie diet or incorporating exercise into your lifestyle, but remember to focus on exercising the whole body, as spot reduction does not work. Eating healthy and adding exercise will raise your metabolism substantially and you will notice results in several weeks. Muscle tissue is metabolically active and comprised of protein, so make sure that you eat plenty of protein before and after a workout to replenish the microscopic muscle tears that occur during weight training.

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