By Jose Loni
Which are better for ab workouts - muscle mass training or endurance training? Both are equally good at helping the body become fit and both are great ways to start a healthy lifestyle. But to really get rock hard abs, training for muscle mass will get you the results you want faster.
The traditional weight loss programs always emphasized sit-ups and running. Depending on what you want to train, you can run or workout with weights. If your goal is to get six pack abs, then running will not give you what you want.
Muscular endurance activities will condition your body to perform well for that activity. The long, low intensity activity will require your muscles to be light, lean and sleek to be able to last for long distances or durations.
Training for muscle mass will really help kick start your metabolism. As your muscles grow, you will feel your body become a fat burning machine. The bigger muscle mass causes increased overall activity of the muscles, which in turn forces the body to burn more calories.
The food that we eat and the excess fat on our body are used by the muscles providing energy for muscle function. When this occurs, the fat that is stored in the stomach area is used and the abs underneath the fat is more visible.
By weight training with high weight and low repetitions, the muscles will be forced to increase its size and also work harder to adapt to the increased exercise intensity. The muscles training at a high intensity cause a buildup of carbon dioxide and lactic acid in the muscles, which will force the body to try to get oxygen to the muscles to replenish, repair and remove the waste products.
The moment the body is able to bring a fresh supply of oxygen to the muscles, it will continue to replenish and repair the muscles to get it ready for the next bout of exercise. This process can take several hours and can occur for the majority of the day. The increased overall metabolic activity turns the body into a fat burning machine.
Endurance training is good for cardiovascular health and leading a fit, healthy lifestyle. However, to get abs that are ripped and rock hard, you need to train for muscle mass and really kick start your body to burning fat. When the body becomes more efficient at burning fat, ripped abs will come faster.
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