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Originally Posted by abrcrombe LOL, How do I get an 8 pack? j/k Everyone says food is SOOO important to abs, is it true? Do you agree with me that in most cases, you could lose weight by eating better portions of food and still eat almost anything you want? Example - if you want a cheeseburger, go ahead but don't eat 2 big macs, large fries, and a large soda? |
I think food is important for any type of muscle growth. But obviously you dont want to be eating foods high in fat (saturated and trans fat). Keeping that in mind, I believe you can eat almost anything you want (almost). When it comes to the end of the day, the most important thing is calories ingested, vs. calories expelled. I agree with your example.
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Originally Posted by useth4z What would be your top 5 strengthening exercises for improving overall muscle tone/strength? |
This is a good question. My first top two would be core exercises, bench press and squats (parallel, not half ass).
With bench press you use your pec minor and major, bicps a little bit of tris, and even some back muscles. You can adjust your technique to allow more back/ shoulder muscles to be involved in the lift. Heres the technique. When you bench, you want to keep everything flat on the bench. If you're arching your back then you arent getting the full benefit of the lift, you're cheating. So make sure you keep your entire back on the bench at all times. This goes for flat bench press, incline/ decline, chest press, etc. Now, when you are pushing the bar up, you usually keep your shoulders on the bench too. Instead, you want to bring your shoulders up with your arms. This is kind of hard to describe without showing someone. But you want to make it one smooth motion, not fully extend your arms then shoot your shoulders up, do it all in sink. This will help work other muscles include the serratus anterior muscle which is said to be the "boxing muscle." This is the muscle that brings your scapulae (shoulder blade) forward as if you were to punch someone.
Squats work your thigh (upper leg), including quads and hamstrings. The reason for going parallel (thigh is parallel with the floor) is so you work your gluteus maximus. That is the only time that muscle gets worked. But technically, you could increase the weight, and not go parallel. This would give the other hamstring and quad muscles a harder work out. Theres nothing wrong with doing this, in fact I recommend it every once in awhile. Just dont forget about that maximus.
My 3rd exercise would be some type of ab exercise. The abs are the core of your body and VERY important. They help you keep good form with other lifts AND while doing other things such as polishing your car!
4th would be some type of cardio. Your heart is a muscle too and needs to be worked out. This will also help with fat loss, and muscular endurance.
5th would be stretching. Being flexible will help you lift more weight, reduce chance of injury and even allow you to have better coordination. Stretching is important to do before and after work outs. But stretching should be done after a short warm up such as a 5 min jog. Its also important to do a cool down after a work out and before the end of the work out stretch. If you work out, then just sit still, then this results in a decrease in blood pressure which could be harmful.
working out is my favorite thing in the entire world so Ive read tons about it.
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