The Abdominal Training Faq –- Your Answers to Your Abdominal Training Questions!

1. What is the best way to flatten my tummy?

The best way to flatten your tummy is first cleaning up what you eat because you can be dedicated and workout every single day. But, if eat greasy and fried foods, foods high in bad fat, sugary foods, and processed foods everyday. Then, you’ll never flatten your tummy.

It’s just the honest, truth. These foods are high in fat and empty calories. But by reducing them, you can drastically lower your body fat level and boost your metabolism by just changing what you eat alone. Your nutrition is the #1 factor to getting toned, sexy, and flat abs. Click here for more info on the best abs nutrition plan

2. How do I lose my love handles, and trim my waist?

Same way, the #1 factor is what you eat. You need to first lower your body fat through what you eat. Then, and only then, will you see the results of doing specific exercises to target your problem areas.

3. What is a core?

Many people think the core is just your abs (from infomercials), which is not true. Your “core” or midsection consists of more than just your abs. Your core is made up of three parts: abdominals, obliques (both internal and external), and your lower back. For training purposes though, your abdominals are separated into two sections, upper and lower. Learn more about your ab anatomy at the ab anatomy page.

4. What’s the difference between a core workout and an ab workout?

An “abs only workout” only targets a certain part of your abdominal, one section at a time (depending on what ab exercises you do). While core strength workouts targets your midsection or core as a “whole.” Too many people make the mistake of only doing a certain ab exercise repeatedly thinking they’ll get toner, while neglecting their core.

You have to work all your ab muscles for the best results. To learn more about your anatomy, go to the ab anatomy page. Also to learn how to properly do your ab workouts, go to the ab workout tips page.

5. Is having a strong core important?

Yes! Sure having a washboard stomach looks great, but if you have a weak core or poor development in your corresponding core areas. Then it can lead to problems. For example, if your abs looks good, but you don’t workout your core areas like your oblique or lower back. Then, you could have problems with your posture or symmetry.

6. Can having a stronger core help improve my strength or make more gains in the weight room?

Absolutely! A lot of your mass building exercises like squats, deadlifts, and press exercises requires having a strong core.

So, by strengthening your core, you’ll develop more power in your trunk. Which translates into more power and explosion while performing these mass building routines and once you become more efficient at doing these exercises. You’ll notice improve muscle and strength gain.

7. I’m an athlete and play a lot of sports. Will a stronger core improve my athletic performance on the field?

Yes, no doubt! A lot of motions you do while playing sports like throwing a football, swinging a golf club, or swinging a baseball bat can be enhanced if you improve your core strength. These movements requires you to deliver your power more efficiently, which can only be done if you have well developed abs, obliques, and lower back muscles. So, having a strong core is just another added bonus to improving your performance on the athletic field!

8. Where is the waist located?

It’s the narrowest part of the torso, between your ribs and hips.

9. Where is an oblique?

The obliques extend along the sides of the abdomen, extending from the bottom of the rib cage to the top of the hips. For more info about your oblique and ab anatomy, go to the ab anatomy page.

10. What is a Swiss ball or exercise ball for?

Swiss balls or exercise balls are used to build or improve your core strength. Which is why the most effective core strength exercises use a Swiss ball or an exercise ball, as it provides the most stimulation and recruits the most muscle fibers. You’ll find these Swiss balls or exercise balls commonly at your local gym by the stretching or abs exercise area, in dance studios, and where all the free weights are too. They can also be found commonly at physical therapy rehab clinics.

11. What is a pilates and yoga ball?

It’s just another way of saying exercise ball, which are commonly referred to as Swiss balls, exercise balls, and yoga or pilates balls.

12. I don’t have a heart rate monitor to measure my heart rate during interval training, is there another way to measure how hard I’m suppose to go on the “sprinting” or high-intensity intervals? Also, how can I tell how hard not to go during the low-intensity periods without a heart rate monitor?

Yes, there’s another way to tell if you’re working at the right intensity level without using a heart rate monitor.

It’s very important you work at the proper intensity level during the high intensity phase to get results. But, it’s just as important to let yourself recover during the low-intensity periods, so you can hit the high intensity periods again with maximum, consistent effort. This approach also gives you the same amount of recovery throughout the entire interval training session.

So, if you don’t have a heart rate monitor, you can measure your own “perceived” effort this way. On the high-intensity or sprinting periods, you want to be at a pace where you’re just above “conversational pace” -- meaning it would be hard for you to hold a normal conversation. During the walking and jogging, or low-intensity and recovery phases, you’d want to be at a pace where you are able to hold a conversation comfortably.

You can also measure your own intensity level or perceived effort on a scale of 1 to 10. With one being slow or easy, and ten being fast or hard. For example, during the low-intensity periods like jogging or walking, you’d want to be at a 3. So, go at a pace just above what you’d consider to be “easy.”

While during the high-intensity periods, you’d want to be at a 7 or 8. So, go at a pace where you'd consider is hard, or is as fast you can go. For more info about interval training, go to the burn stomach fat page.

13. Can I do interval training on something besides the treadmill?

Absolutely! You can do it on the stationary bike, elliptical, and even the stair master! Just apply the same interval training concepts.

Depending on what exercise machine you have, there are even interval training programs included with them. Look for a button that says “speed intervals” or something similar to it.

But note: Doing interval training on the treadmill burns the most calories since it recruits your upper body as well, followed by the stair master, the elliptical, and then the stationary bike -- which has the least impact because it doesn’t engage the upper body at all. So, you will get the best results on the treadmill.

Still there’s nothing wrong with the stair master, elliptical, and stationary bike. They can be great alternatives if you’re new and just starting out doing this type of training.

Also if running on the treadmill is stressful on your joints, these machines can be another option while still being able to get the benefits of doing interval training.

Plus, fitness is about finding something you enjoy, so if you like doing intervals better on these machines. Go for it!

A great idea, for example, would be to do interval training on the treadmill one day, and then do it on the stair master or elliptical during the next training session. And, so on. Just another way to mix things up!

14. I don’t have a gym membership, or have access to cardio equipment. Can I still do interval training?

Yes, of course! Interval training doesn’t have to be done at the gym and you don’t need a gym to be able to still receive the benefits of interval training. The term “interval training” just means -- alternating between periods of high-intensity and low-intensity. So, you can apply this concept to anywhere.

For example, you can do interval training during your daily runs on surfaced streets around your neighborhood. But, instead of just running at the same even pace for the entire time. You can first begin your run at a constant pace with even strides for several miles, or blocks.

Then, after several miles or blocks of steady and constant running, you can start doing your intervals by sprinting for several feet. Then return to easier running, and repeat again. Continue to repeat this process of -- low intensity period to high intensity period -- until you’ve completed the rest of your run. Just like doing it in the gym!

15. I’m an avid walker and it’s something I love to do. But, I also want to lose my belly fat. I know you don’t advocate doing low-intensity exercises to burn fat. So, is there a way I can do both what I love and use interval training to burn fat at the same time?

It’s not I’m totally against low-intensity exercises. It’s just high-intensity training will help you burn fat, and low-intensity exercises won’t.

But, there are times when high-intensity exercises are not suitable for you, such as if you’re overweight or just coming back from a long lay off from working out, for example. These are the times when doing low-intensity exercises would be beneficial.

So, if that’s the case. This is what you’d do. Just incorporate the interval training concept into your walking routine on the treadmill! Only difference is just “walk” instead.

For example:

• First you start with a brief two to three minute warm-up to get loosened up (five minutes if you need it).
• Followed by walking at a moderate pace for two minutes. This would be your low-intensity, or recovery periods.
• Then, you’d walk faster or “power walk” for two minutes and this would be your high-intensity periods.
• Repeat the two until you've completed 20 to 25 minutes total (not including warm-up periods).
• End with a five minute cool down, then stretch out.

So, now you get the best of both worlds! Enjoy! :-)

16. Should I do interval training before or after a weightlifting workout?

It’s generally better to do cardio, and interval training after your workout. Reason is if you do it before you won’t be able to lift as much as you would normally. So, it could affect your gains.

But if you do interval training after your workout, you might be too spent. And, if you’re tired, you won’t have energy to get enough intensity. So, under these circumstances it would be better to do it on a different day such as a “cardio day!”

Everyone is different, and it depends on what fitness level you're at and what type of shape you're in. Some people like to do cardio after they lift, while others like to do it on a separate day. So use this as a guideline.

The important thing is don’t worry about when you do it -- like the commercial says, just do it! Focus more on being consistent to get the best results. For more info about interval training, go to the burn stomach fat page.

17. How many times a week do I need to strength train?

Your goal while strength training is to stimulate the release of your muscle building and fat burning hormones, as well as raising your metabolic rate to burn off the belly fat that’s hiding your abdominal muscles. You can accomplish this by doing strength training for as little as three times a week. Click here for more information about the best strength training tips to build muscle and burn fat.

18. How many sets are best while doing strength training?

Again, your goal is to release muscle building and fat burning hormones, and to raise your metabolism. So, focus on using compound exercises to work your largest muscle groups using between 4 to 5 sets for each exercise. Click here for more tips on strength training.

19. How many exercises are best to train each body part for strength training?

It depends what your goals are. But, 2 to 5 exercises to train each of your largest, or main muscle group is best. For more tips on strength training, go to the strength training tips page.

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