Help on abs development...

[AgentX]

Hello guys,
I have been working on my abs for about an year now and only the upper pair is somewhat visible.
Earlier I just focused on ab exercies but as I learned that losing abdominal fat was equally important I also started cardio.
For the past 2 months I have been doing 10 min ab exercise followed by 25-30 min cardio(running), but stilll my lower abdominal mass doesn't seem to go(it has just reduced a little).

I am getting a little demotivated as nothing seems to work.
Any suggestions or help would be highly appreciated.

 

[Jrahien]

Ab exercises aren't very effective at all, actually. Cardio is the right direction to focus on, but if you're plateauing, then you need to do something to further promote extra fat burning. Either up the intensity of your workout (try HIIT training) or adjust your diet (you won't get anywhere if you're just replacing what you burn with junk food).

 

[FAMAS]

Ab exercises ARE Effective. Point here is about Visibility, it's different.

More sweat, more weight loss, less fat covering up your pack, so only thing I can suggest is more cardio... Altough half an hour of running is pretty damn plenty IMO, how often do you do this?

 

[stayingfit]

At first you might find that running on the treadmill appears to burn more calories and you feel like you are melting that fat away. This will happen for a while, however, the more miles you log the more efficient at running you become and the fewer calories you actually burn. This may be why your are not seeing better results. Start by weight training using heavier weights as you progress. This will build more muscle mass and reduce fat thereby revealing the muscles on your mid-section. The next stage is to consume more protein than carbohydrates. Every time you eat a meal that does not include protein, you are telling your body that you do not want to burn more calories. Let me explain: Protein helps control your blood sugar, keeps you fuller, reduces hunger and burns more calories during digestion. This allows you to stay lean and still enjoy your favorite foods.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

The next stage is to consume more protein than carbohydrates. Every time you eat a meal that does not include protein, you are telling your body that you do not want to burn more calories. Let me explain: Protein helps control your blood sugar, keeps you fuller, reduces hunger and burns more calories during digestion. This allows you to stay lean and still enjoy your favorite foods.

Please elaborate. I expect to have missed something and want to find out what.
The main dietary component affecting metabolism is carbohydrate. Very sensible when you consider that this is the main source of energy for the human animal. Reducing this tells the body you have not been able to find enough food and it slows your metabolism to cope. Everything about our digestive system is designed for diet with carbs as the main component.
Protein is broken down to amino acids. Amino acids are assembled to create enzymes in the body, including amylase and insulin two major enzymes linked to metabolising carbs, and all others. The protein for this purpose will not be from the same meal, likely at least the day before.
The body does use an amino acid to judge satiety, but that is about half an hour after eating it.
Ideal balance of core calorific intake should be roughly 60 - 65% carb (less than 5% of this simple carbs), 25% protein and 12.5% fat. This is what we are designed for and when training hard you need energy most of all.

What I have said is from several books by professional sports nutritionists including Anita Bean who works for the British Olympic team, so has to be able to work with every type of body and training. The books are old so new research may have made this moot, so please correct me.

The stuff on training and becoming more efficient at running over time. Spot on.

 

[altidorj]

Please elaborate. I expect to have missed something and want to find out what.
The main dietary component affecting metabolism is carbohydrate. Very sensible when you consider that this is the main source of energy for the human animal. Reducing this tells the body you have not been able to find enough food and it slows your metabolism to cope. Everything about our digestive system is designed for diet with carbs as the main component.
Protein is broken down to amino acids. Amino acids are assembled to create enzymes in the body, including amylase and insulin two major enzymes linked to metabolising carbs, and all others. The protein for this purpose will not be from the same meal, likely at least the day before.
The body does use an amino acid to judge satiety, but that is about half an hour after eating it.
Ideal balance of core calorific intake should be roughly 60 - 65% carb (less than 5% of this simple carbs), 25% protein and 12.5% fat. This is what we are designed for and when training hard you need energy most of all.

What I have said is from several books by professional sports nutritionists including Anita Bean who works for the British Olympic team, so has to be able to work with every type of body and training. The books are old so new research may have made this moot, so please correct me.

The stuff on training and becoming more efficient at running over time. Spot on.

I respect your knowledge CrazyOldMan, I learned a lot here!