The most common questions around the sculpted abdomen

The swimsuit season is slowly and surely starting and with it comes the showing off of toned bodies and especially bellies. Six-pack, pecs, abs... whatever you call it, we are sure that many of you are dreaming of working out your abs. And of course, there are a lot of myths and half-truths surrounding this topic too. In today's article, we're going to take a look at the most common abdominal workout sayings and break down how much they are based on truth.

Can I lose fat with abdominal exercises?

The idea that you'll be crunching your abdominal muscles every day and burning fat on your belly as a result is beautiful, but unfortunately unrealistic. Just as we can't choose where to deposit fat, we can't choose the area from which to shed it. In short, you don't just lose fat locally, you lose fat from your entire body, so abdominal exercises alone will definitely not burn fat on your belly. Rather, you are firming up with the exercise, which can improve your posture, especially if you are strengthening the middle of your body (so-called core training).

Do I need to exercise my abs every day?

You've probably come across the opinion that the abdominal muscles recover faster than the others and if you want them to be visible, you need to exercise them every day. Wrong. For one thing, the abdominal muscle is like any other muscle, so it too needs to regenerate, and in the vast majority of exercises you are unknowingly engaging your midsection, and thus your abdominals, so there is no need to crunch them daily. For basic exercises like squats, standing presses and deadlifts, a toned midsection is actually the starting position.

You only need to include targeted abdominal muscle training once or twice a week. Indeed, this is sufficient. Focus on all abdominal muscle groups (rectus, external and internal obliques, transverse, and don't forget to train the dorsal muscles, i.e. the muscles in the hip area) and train them thoroughly. If you exercise your abdominals every day, you will definitely not see faster results.

Is it necessary to have a low percentage of fat in order for the abdominal muscles to be visible?

Yes, the visibility of the abdominal muscles is clearly linked to the amount of body fat. It doesn't matter how much you work on your "abs" because if you have too much visceral* fat in the belly button area, you will never see your results. How much your muscles will be visible is also (unfortunately) genetically determined and depends on your physiology. We all have different problem areas where fat sticks, even if you have a similar body fat percentage to someone in your family, you may not look the same at all. That's the tricky thing about nature, there are no pairs of physiologically identical people. But it is generally said that around the 10% mark, abdominal muscles should be visible.
*Visceral fat = excess fat that forms around the abdominal organs and can be a serious health hazard if there is a lot of it.

Who can have a paunch?

Anyone, but few have the will. I'm sure you've heard that someone simply doesn't have the aptitude for having visible abdominal muscles. Anyone can have them, they just have to have patience and discipline and endure all the hard work and sacrifice. But the appearance of abdominal muscles is a matter of genetics. Someone has a real six-pack, someone has cubes even eight or ten and others have "buns" simply only four. However, anyone can really build them up.

Does abdominal exercise affect waist width?

If you eat right, move around and can reduce body fat, it is possible for your waistline to narrow. However, if you have some of that peak in your tummy, it's possible that working out your abs will in turn make your waist even wider. Strengthening your abdominal muscles works on the same principle as strengthening any other muscle group. They grow and get stronger through exertion, however, abdominal exercises alone do not expand the waist, so it really depends on how much body fat you have at the time.

What about modern exercise corsets, do they affect waist width as advertisements promise?

Big world news. The exercise corset. If you go to a gym where an athlete works out, you've probably noticed this belt. If you think athletes' narrow waists are the result of wearing tightening corsets, you're also mistaken. Wearing a corset may make your waist look slimmer at any given moment, but in reality, nothing much will change.

Training corsets can promote body warmth due to the tight fit, helping to "pull" water away from the area you have fixed with the corset. However, this works for a very short time and the measurements you "lose" are negligible. If you rely solely on the tightening belts and wear them throughout your workout, you may even be weakening your midsection. As is the case with slimming leggings that shed pounds for you, exercise corsets are just a rather hilarious marketing ploy.

So how about that six-pack?

That six-pack is due to two things -strong abdominal muscles and a low body fat percentage. The key is to find a healthy balance between these components. You shouldn't primarily focus on a chiseled abs, but on having a healthy and functional body. If you get to the point where you have it, then it's only a matter of time and discipline before the belly buns come too.

You won't have a chiseled belly without a proper diet and proper training. Have a varied, healthy, balanced diet with a slight calorie deficit, lift weights, do some of your favorite cardio, and most importantly... hang in there! Patience makes the master - and in this case, buns on your belly.

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