As promised Michele Olson's, Ph.D., FACSM, C.S.C.S., study on core strength was published in ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal this month! Her article explains in detail the methods that scientists use to determine how effective a muscle's movement is as well as what her research team found when evaluating the effectiveness of certain yoga and Pilates abdominal exercises. Read this article and then try her workout shared in my earlier post!
While the promise of anything really easy is usually too good to be true, this workout from Self magazine is pretty impressive! Created by an exercise physiologist, the idea of this workout is that by toning the three main muscle groups that make up your abs together, you can get a workout that is much more effective than the crunches we were all taught to do in elementary school P.E. Plus, I think these moves are more fun, and I hope you do too! The Self.com source explains the findings of Michelle Olson, Ph.D. which show just how much more effective each move is at toning your abs than a traditional crunch; her work is soon to be published in ACSM''s Health & Fitness Journal.
Keep in mind, in order to see results you should incorporate these strength moves into a program that emphasizes all aspects of physical fitness. It's also good to remember that just like you can't control where you gain fat, you can't control where you lose it. Livestrong.com gives a good explanation as to why spot training doesn't work, showing that a well-balanced fitness program is key. |
|