If you want hot abs, you might be wondering if diet might be better than cardio, or the other way around:
Perhaps cardio wins over diet when it comes to getting great abs.
To understand which is better for getting ripped abs — cardio or diet — ask yourself this question: Which is better for getting buff arms: cardio or diet?
Which is better for getting sculpted legs: cardio or diet?
Cardio beats diet when it comes to getting ripped abs. Cardio beats diet also when it comes to shaping the arms and legs ‘” though when compared to lifting weights for shaping arms and legs, cardio is inferior.
A person with a gleaming six-pack of abs works out. Almost always, he or she “watches his diet,” but all the diet does is help remove a lot of the fat between the skin and abdominal muscle, so that the abs are more visible.
But if those ab muscles are not trained, and instead are flabby and weak, they won’t show much, if at all, even if you don’t have much fat in that area.
A thin person who does not exercise, or whose exercise regimen is lame, never has a six-pack.
At the most, they have a subtle “arch” in their abs: the outline of where the six-pack is supposed to be — and it is hardly noticeable.
A person who diets and loses weight, but does not exercise, will not have shapely or defined shoulders and arms, either.
In order for muscles to show, including abdominal muscles, they must be exercised.
Cardio can be one great way to condition your abs and get them showing (assuming your body fat percentage is low enough).
Look at Olympic sprinters. They have amazing six-packs. Same with 400-meter specialists.
Even the 800-meter specialists often show six-pack abs, though the shorter the distance that the athlete specializes in, the more prominent the ab muscles tend to be.
This is because 1) High speed running recruits core muscles more than slower speed running, and 2) The training that sprint athletes endure is conducive to high amounts of fat-burning.
Have you ever seen a “really skinny” woman who actually had a puffy waistline and absolutely no abdominal definition? She either doesn’t exercise, or does only mild levels of exercise.
A skinny man, too, may be absent the signs of abdominal definition, especially if he is older.
For ripped abs, don’t overeat. Whittle down the body fat with weight workouts and cardio exercise, preferably high intensity interval training.
Focus on large muscle groups for melting off fat when it comes to weight workouts.
Higher Energy Expenditure: Exercises that target large muscle groups, such as squats, deadlifts, and bench presses, require more energy and burn more calories compared to those targeting smaller muscles. This increased calorie burn helps in fat loss.
Increased Metabolic Rate: Working large muscle groups can elevate your metabolism not just during the workout but also for hours afterward, known as the afterburn effect or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC).
Hormonal Response: Engaging large muscle groups stimulates the release of hormones like testosterone and growth hormone, which aid in fat loss and muscle growth.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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