question about supplements

[Raptor2216]

This question a little off topic but I wanted to know if anyone here has used supplements specifically for abs? Cardio and situps aren't enough, it seems, so I was thinking about trying some ab supplement. Any suggestions, experiences? Thanks.

 

[wannabef18pilot]

supplements for just abs is bull****. What are you trying to do, improve your situp PRT score or get a 6 pack?
You can take whey protein and a vitamon supplement like solotron if you do strength training. This will affect all of your muscles.
You may also take creatine, but since you believe there is a supplement that "helps your abs" you're probably not mature enough to take it.
1.) leg lifts
2.) crunches
3.) use the tricep pull down behind your neck and bring your head to your knees
Try to do abs as often as posible. This is the one muscle u don't want to relax if u r trying to develop a 6 pac- Take it from me, my abs are rock hard.

 

[Raptor2216]

my PFT is fine, I just want a 6-pack and to lose the beer belly i've developed during my college career. I've never taken supplements before or creatine so I don't know anything about either.

What is most efective for burning off the gutt? I had heard something about aiming for a certain heart rate if youre looking to burn fat...is there any truth to this? Thanks for the info.

 

[UORBulldog]

yes there is a certain percentage of your max heart rate that is the key heart rate for burning fat... I don't know it.

Just doing situps and ab work won't burn off your gut or give you a six pack, you have to do overall aerobic fat burning exercises that will burn fat through your whole body.. i.e. running at whatever that percentage of your max heart rate is. Therefore running is probalby the best ab exercise for burning that gut off. Remember what we're talking about here there is two totally different things- 1. burning fat, and 2. strengthening the muscle
if you want to strengthen the muscle than do your situps and ab workouts, you will be doing 200 situps in 2 minutes but doing that alone won't give you a six pack, which is fine cuase we're all hardcore runners anyway

 

[feddoc]

Heart rate.....220- (your age) = theoretical max HR.

Take that number, multiply it by .60 and .80 to get your target zone. If, during your exercise, you have a HR within that zone for 30 continuous minutes you will increase your fat metabolism (use) and increase cardiac efficiency. Fat will continue to be utilized and used up all over your body. Certainly ab work will develop the abdominal muscles, but losing the body fat will let those muscels be visible.

There are no drugs, supplements or ergogenic aids which will assist you.

Theory suggests that fat burning is better accomplished at the 65% or so range as opposed to the higher range.

There are other separate advantages to both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. As examples, the biggest difference is that aerobic is much better than anaerobic for developing a respiratory system. Conversely, strength training is much better than running for developing muscles. Building muscle and burning fat are not mutually exclusive.

However, if you keep your heart rate within 'your' age predicted zone you will see benefits whether your exercise of choice is lifting weights or running. The above holds true with either exercise being utilized as the stimulus. Stimulii?

Your heart will not care which (aerobic or anaerobic) exercise you choose...as long as your heart rate is within your age predicted zone.....it will improve efficiency.

 

[Brett327]

People like to get all technical about this kind of stuff, which is fine, but as far as burning fat and losing your gut, you gotta burn more calories then you consume. If you run 15 miles per week and watch what you put in your cake-hole, the gut will melt away, but you've gotta stick with it. Lots of guys find that they already have a decent looking 6-pack without doing a million crunches, but it has just been hiding under the fat.

Brett

 

[Steve Wilkins]

Heart rate.....220- (your age) = theoretical max HR.

Take that number, multiply it by .60 and .80 to get your target zone. If, during your exercise, you have a HR within that zone for 30 continuous minutes you will increase your fat metabolism (use) and increase cardiac efficiency. Fat will continue to be utilized and used up all over your body. Certainly ab work will develop the abdominal muscles, but losing the body fat will let those muscels be visible.

There are no drugs, supplements or ergogenic aids which will assist you.

Theory suggests that fat burning is better accomplished at the 65% or so range as opposed to the higher range.

There are other separate advantages to both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. As examples, the biggest difference is that aerobic is much better than anaerobic for developing a respiratory system. Conversely, strength training is much better than running for developing muscles. Building muscle and burning fat are not mutually exclusive.

However, if you keep your heart rate within 'your' age predicted zone you will see benefits whether your exercise of choice is lifting weights or running. The above holds true with either exercise being utilized as the stimulus. Stimulii?

Your heart will not care which (aerobic or anaerobic) exercise you choose...as long as your heart rate is within your age predicted zone.....it will improve efficiency.

Great post! "Building muscle and burning fat are not mutually exclusive." I wish more people understood that concept.

Limiting calories is fine for some people. However, there is also tons of research out there that indicates limiting calories can have just the opposite of the desired effect. Note though, that the cardinal rule still applies....your body must burn more calories than it consumes. No way of getting around that. As for "spot reduction" as in just targeting the fat around the midsection....can't do it no matter how many damn crunches, situps, or upside down pushups you do.

When push comes to shove, there is no one best way. Each of us is different in what works and what doesn't re: cardio vs. strength training vs. combination of the two.

 

[Brett327]

Hey, Steve. I think we might have found something the two of us agree on, my blackshoe wearing friend.

Brett

 

[Raptor2216]

I need to make a little correction to that formula. You left out the resting heart rate part of it so if anyone is interested, visit this site to see what i'm talking about:http://www.merlinofitness.com/sub_p..._pages/fitness_articles/target_heart_rate.php

 

[Steve Wilkins]

Hey, Steve. I think we might have found something the two of us agree on, my blackshoe wearing friend.

Brett

That may be true....but I wear brown shoes with my khakis.

 

[feddoc]

I need to make a little correction to that formula. You left out the resting heart rate part of it so if anyone is interested, visit this site to see what i'm talking about:http://www.merlinofitness.com/sub_p..._pages/fitness_articles/target_heart_rate.php

Thanks for the offer, but, no correction to the formula needed. There are disagreements upon which formula to use; however, most of us in this business use the one promoted by the American Heart Association.


Additionally, if someone is looking for a personal trainer, I would strongly suggest focusing on someone who is certifed by one of two groups. They have been around for many years and their certification tests are the most stringent in the business. In the 23 years I have been in this field, I have yet to see a college or professional level sports team who does not employ someone (as a strength and conditioning coach) who is certified by either the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Associatio) or ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine).


http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4736


Age Target HR Zone
50-75 % Average Maximum
Heart Rate
100 %

20 years 100-150 beats per minute 200 beats per minute
25 years 98-146 beats per minute 195 beats per minute
30 years 95-142 beats per minute 190 beats per minute
35 years 93-138 beats per minute 185 beats per minute
40 years 90-135 beats per minute 180 beats per minute
45 years 88-131 beats per minute 175 beats per minute
50 years 85-127 beats per minute 170 beats per minute
55 years 83-123 beats per minute 165 beats per minute
60 years 80-120 beats per minute 160 beats per minute
65 years 78-116 beats per minute 155 beats per minute
70 years 75-113 beats per minute 150 beats per minute

Your maximum heart rate is about 220 minus your age. The figures above are averages, so use them as general guidelines.

 

[Raptor2216]

I went ahead and purchased a heart rate monitor and i'm averaging about 180BPM at a very easy running pace. I would have to practically walk to stay under 150...so what gives? I know walking doesn't do $h!t, so am I doing something wrong here? On top of this, the monitor that I bought has things all set up according to age and its range is set between 178-190BPM..if I fall below or go above, the alarm goes off.

 

[feddoc]

You might try borrowing another montior or use a stationery one at the gym. Compare the rates....if they are all the same at your best guess of an equal exertion effort then you may be overtraining.

As an example, on the elliptical trainer I use, lowering my pace by .5 mph makes a noticable difference in heart rate.

 

[GburgMike]

Caloric intake should be less the caloric output. Run 5-6 days a week at a good pace...you can judge for yourself. Monday-Friday be very good with what you eat. Stick to a low fat diet. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables with meals and drink lots and lots of water. Come saturday and Sunday have 3 meals in which you eat whatever you want to eat, including dessert. This will shock your body and boost your metabolism. Then come Monday go back to eating very healthy and do NOT cheat during the week. Again, the most important thing is to consume less calories than you burn during the day. This diet works....I've been on it for a little over a month and I have lost between 25 and 35 pounds. My physical exercize per day was extremely high so that helped in terms of losing the weight. I would eat 3 times a day during the week and for breakfast I would have egg whites, oranges and bananas and 3 glasses of water and a cup of hot tea. Lunch I would eat a bowl of cucumbers, chicken or turkey, and a few apples and oranges or bananas again with 3 glasses of water. Dinner would be similiar to lunch plus a few cups of hot tea. The most important thing to realize when dieting is that you're not changing your body...your changing your lifestyle and thats why people usually fail at dieting...because they can't change their lifestyle.

 

[KBayDog]

This diet works....I've been on it for a little over a month and I have lost between 25 and 35 pounds. My physical exercize per day was extremely high so that helped in terms of losing the weight.

25-35# in a month is too high - be careful. When dropping pounds, shoot for 1.5-2.0 pounds per week.

P_ubhi18, walking DOES burn fat. We are just conditioned to believe that, unless we are drenched in sweat and completely fatigued, we aren't doing anything positive for our bodies. The truth is, we burn fat just by being alive. The rate is increased as we are more active - washing cars, doing chores, walking, etc. The "optimal" fat burning range, as feddoc stated, is around the 60-65% of your theoretical heart rate max. And yes, it requires a LOT less effort than we think it should. (This is why heart rate training is recommended - we don't even know what our bodies require!)

While 60-65% will burn fat, it is not optimal for building the CV endurance required for OCS. The only way to do this is to run, run, run (and cross-train with low-impact activities, such as swimmming, biking, elliptical trainers, etc.) As far as the running goes, a good rule of thumb is that in order to stay in a good CV training zone, you should be at the threshold of being able to talk. That is, work up to a speed where you and your buddies cannot hold a conversation when you run, then back off a bit until you CAN have a conversation. Again, this will feel a lot slower than it should, and you will be tempted to speed up. However, your speed will naturally increase as your heart becomes more efficient. You will be able to hold a conversation at a faster pace with less effort as you progress.

Hope some of this helps, and if you have any more questions about training/OCS, send them downrange.