11 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT THE ABDOMINAL

Everything you wanted to know about your "Six Pack" beer belly, muffin top, or any way you are taking your belly these days. No surprises here, the "Six Pack" is a hot topic. It is a search phrase for more than 1.2 million times a month on Google alone. But there is more in your abdomen that your sexy six segments. In fact, that washboard is actually composed of a muscle, the rectus abdominis, which gets its "separation" of dense connective tissue called fascia. The muscles of the sides of your torso are also considered part of the abdominals: the external and internal obliques help you bend your torso from side to side and rotate upper body to the left and right. If all this is new to you, read on to see 11 essential facts you should know about abs.

You do not need to train every day

If you perform abdominal exercises every day in search of a perfect belly, you could overload your muscles. A lot of people go overboard. They will do crunches 7 days a week and no breaks are allowed. That only hurts the muscles. It is recommended to focus on the abdominals three or four times a week. Perform only abdominal exercises is not enough it is also important to mix things up : A new research shows that make a routine of basic strengthening exercises alone will not slims your waist. When volunteers made seven moves 5 days a week, they had strong abdominal muscles but lost fat or centimeters. To reveal chiseled abs, you need to train all major muscle groups, do cardio, and follow a healthy diet.

If you want strong abs, you need a strong back

if the abs are the star of the show, think of your lower back as the secondary characters. By strengthening your lower back, your waist will be thinner. In addition, a strong lower back makes it possible for you to complete intense workouts focusing on crunches with less risk of injury. It can not be one - sided. It is the same problem we see in super athletes develop their quadriceps and end with hamstring injuries. If you neglect your back, not only will you have a more difficult to complete abdominal exercises in the first time, but also have a better chance of getting injured and having to postpone abdominal movements aimed at completely while you recover. In other words, if you want your "Six-pack", you better get in shape your lower back as a perfect gift of fitness and weight Lifting Meat Heads.

Some abdominal movements are more effective than others

A 2001 study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) found that the most effective abdominal movements aimed at actually be done at home with minimal equipment. The researchers tested the required amount of muscle activity while performing 13 participants basic abdominal exercises. The crisis of the bicycle, the captain's chair, and the crisis of the stability ball were named the best moves, requiring 148, 112, and 39% more muscle activity, respectively, the contraction of the traditional. And if you want an oblique movement incorporates reverse contraction in your training. It is 140% more effective in hitting the sides of your torso that the contraction of the traditional.

Some abdominal movements not worth doing The same study ACE determines exercises aimed at "Six pack" less effective. The pull tube exercise and Ab Rocker machine were at the bottom of the list, requiring 8 and 79% less muscle activity, respectively, the contraction of the traditional. You can have more fat in the belly of what time the mirror There are two types of fat: subcutaneous and visceral.

Subcutaneous fat is the most common major organs, which resides in the whole body, just below the skin but visceral fat resides deep within the torso and wraps around your heart, liver and others. While subcutaneous fat is easy to see in the mirror (which is the stuff you can pinch), visceral fat is difficult to detect without a CT scan or MRI. In fact, it is possible to look at you relatively thin and still have too much visceral fat.

Not all fats are equal

Visceral fat is not only more difficult to detect, but also more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. It is more likely to produce substances that can damage the heart and blood vessels and may interfere with the body's ability to use insulin. What is worse, the large amounts of belly fat can increase your risk of serious health problems such as high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, certain cancers and heart disease.

a study published in "Circulation", "Journal of the American Heart Association" even found that visceral fat has a greater impact on cardiovascular health of older women with obesity. Visceral fat may also have an effect on mental health: A study indicated that comparing people with different levels of fat, found that participants had more belly fat were 145% more likely to develop dementia than participants with the least amount of belly fat.

Belly fat may increase the risk of osteoporosis

Since underweight women are known to have increased risk of osteoporosis, was supposed to be the heaviest, it was the healthiest of bones. But the results of a recent study presented at the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America suggest otherwise: The researchers found that visceral fat is associated with reduced bone mineral density in obese women.

You can draw your way to a flatter stomach

A Spanish study published in the journal Diabetes Care found that eating a diet rich in monounsaturated fatty acids can actually help prevent weight gain in the abdomen, more specifically, the accumulation of visceral fat. Foods like avocados, nuts and olive oil are rich in monounsaturated fats, which are also known to help lower bad cholesterol.

A strong stomach protects against injury

A study conducted by the US Army He found that strong abdominal muscles are linked to injury prevention. The researchers followed 120 men for one year of field training and found that those who were able to perform as many crunches (73 situps in two minutes) during its first test of the standard fitness army were 5 times less likely to suffer lower body injuries than men who completed less than 50 abs.