There’s usually an easy way and a hard way to do nearly everything in life and fitness is no exception. You’ve probably heard of a million different ways to get ripped and stay fit but how could you be sure that all of them are really effective? The last thing you want to do in your quest to getting fit is waste your energy and see no results. In this article we’ll look at 3 of the most common fitness goals, the popular techniques used to achieve them and easier ways of achieving the same workout effect.
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Developing Abs
The hard way: Sit ups
Sit ups are probably the single most popular technique used for ab workouts but in recent times there have been a lot of articles claiming to show conclusively that sit-ups are not as effective as previously thought. So are they or are they not? Well, the answer is yes and no. There are two layers of abdominal muscles: the more visible outer layer, comonly referred to as the “6 pack” and the underlying muscles that really do all the really hard work of transmitting strength to the lower limbs and stabilizing the spine. These muscles receive the greatest benefit from traditional sit-ups but to work the outer layer (6 pack) some other exercises are probably a bit more effective.
The Easy Way: Fat loss training
Fat loss is more effective for the development of aesthetically desirable abs. The fact is that abdominal muscles are used during most physical activity and as a result they are already reasonably well developed in most people, but are usually covered in a layer or layers of belly fat. Compound exercises like squats and pull-ups as well as cardio exercises are ideal for fat loss and you could combine these with sit ups or crunches for maximum effect. This probably sounds a bit harder than doing sit ups alone but then it would be way more effective.
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Cardio
The Hard Way: Running endless miles
Cardio workouts have lots of benefits for the human body which are pretty much common knowledge. The most popular cardio workout is probably running which has a lot of great benefits and for a lot of people, could be therapeutic. But is running the most ideal way to get your cardio workout?
The Easy Way: High Intensity Circuit Training
Team sports like soccer that involve a lot of running and some physical contact have been found to be significantly more effective than running or jogging for keeping fit because they include elements of cardio, resistance training and high intensity interval training. Even if you don’t have the time for a game or two each week, or running around getting dirty on a soccer field is not exactly your idea of fun, a well planned high intensity circuit training session could yield the same benefits or more. High intensity circuit training is a workout technique that features a succession of exercises that target different muscles groups, performed at high intensity and with few or very short breaks in between. The good thing about high intensity circuit training is that a good 15 minute workout could yield all the fitness benefits that the average person needs.
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Weight loss
The Hard Way: Eat Less of Everything
So many people still make this classic mistake of eating less of everything when they’re trying to lose weight. True, the less you eat, the less calories your body has to convert into fat. The problem is, when you stop eating your body may start converting muscle into glucose for energy which just makes you weaker.
The Easy Way: Eat Right
Eat the right foods. Your goal in getting fit should be to build muscle and burn fat, in that order. Building muscles helps to burn fat and the first step to building muscle is eating muscle. Well, not literally but muscles are basically composed of protein and a high protein intake is very beneficial for muscle growth.
Conclusion
No pain, no gain is a popular exercise quote but like i always say, mo’ pain doesn’t always eqaul mo’ gain. You should aim to work out smarter, not harder as outlined in the tips above. Good luck getting fit!
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