Time and again, expert studies have shown that total body cardiovascular exercises are most effective in eliminating excess body fat. There’s no way to bring out the striations and contours of the abdominal muscles to show a 6 pack unless the belly fat is reduced enough.
Exercises that build muscle tissue speed-up the body’s metabolism, making it easier to get rid of stored fat. Total body aerobic exercises that keep the heart rate at raised levels burn calories and reduce body fat effectively. There is some debate however as to what intensity levels the heart rate should be at.
A lot of folks use the low-intensity approach for the simple reason that they’re easier to do. Even beginners, the elderly and the extremely obese can benefit from low-intensity aerobic workouts.
Another aspect the low-intensity cardio theory has going for it is that it’s a proven fact that exercises done at low-moderate intensity over an extended period targets body fat as the only source of calories used up. Exercising at intense levels actually cause the body to use up carbohydrates as well as fat for energy also.
The stored form of carbohydrates in muscle tissue is known as glycogen and it is needed in proper muscle formation. In losing weight and getting 6 pack abs, it is important to maintain as much muscle as possible because it helps keep the body’s metabolism high.
Experts who swear by high-intensity cardio exercise for forming 6 pack abs say the sheer amount of calories burned working out hard offsets glycogen loss which can be replenished through post workout food. Of course, the faster the calorie-burn, the shorter the workout sessions.
High intensity theorists say that intense exercise in even help develop more muscle as a result of harder physical effort required to execute them. It’s also been discovered that a person’s metabolic rate stays at elevated levels hours after having finished with the workout. This means even more calories spent and more body fat curbed.
Another disadvantage of low-intensity exercises is it takes 10 minutes before the heart rate goes high enough to be able to start burning calories. It’s clear that choosing between the two cardio ’schools of thought’ depends on how much time a person can allot to exercising each day to get 6 pack abs and how developed his cardiovascular system is.
Tags: hardgainer, get ripped, bodybuilding program, muscle mass