It's great to be back! I had an amazing time in Jamaica. Really enjoyed the food, the people, the weather, and the scenery. Lot of relaxing, mixed with some action and adventure. Just what the doctor ordered.
I want to touch on a very popular topic today. Abs! A lot of my clients ask me why we don't do more ab exercises in class.
The best way to answer that is to ask you a quick question.
How many crunches does it take to lose a pound of fat?
-500?
-2000?
What do you think?
It takes about 250,000 crunches to burn 1 pound of fat (3,500 calories).That is crazy!
So if you started doing 685 crunches every day, this time next year you will have burned off that pesky pound of fat.
Not too efficient is it?
But crunches are still a go to exercise for people trying to get six pack abs. I would never say an exercise is a waste of time, but there are definitely better ways to go about getting better abs.
Instead of taking 15 minutes to do several hundred crunches at a time, here are 3 ways you would make much better progress towards getting rid of belly fat.
1. Use that time to prep, plan, and/or cook some healthy meals.
You have to get rid of the fat surrounding your stomach to see progress. Proper nutrition will get you there faster than any other exercise.
2. Spend that time doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
Go hard for 30 seconds, then slow down for 30 seconds. Pick out 3 exercises and do 5 minutes of this pattern for all three exercises.
3. Do this workout
Set a timer for 15 minutes, every exercise is 15 repetitions, and you will do as many rounds as possible for the following exercises:
-Pushups
-Burpees
-Bodyweight squats
-Shoulder press right
-Shoulder press left
-Squat and row
-Pike pushups
-Mountain climbers
Or you can watch me demonstrate the workout in a video I did a few years ago for Healthy Huntsville:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fprWXvhfOAk&feature=youtu.be