Advice on Cardio and Abs

viking805fan

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Stats as of now:

22yrs old - HT: 5 Ft-11inch
10.4 BF
25.0 BMI
182.0 LBS

I would like some advice and tips on the frequency of how much I should be doing cardio per week. Also what would be better, High intensity cardio or low intensity cardio for someone that just wants to be more toned (not huge).

Another problem area of mine is my lower ab section i can see a little definition on top but I'm pretty sure I still have some extra loose skin there from weight loss including some stretch marks and when I lean over skin kinda just hangs there. So any tips on getting rid of that as well would be helpful. Another goal of mine is to get toned hard abs, even a six pack if possible. How many times a week should I be working out my abs??? As of now I workout my abs 3 times a week, Mon, Wed, Fri, I usually take weekends off from the gym.

Any tips on workouts or nutrition even would be greatly appreciated! : )
 
seccsi

seccsi

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The problem with cardio is you could ask 1,000 different people and get 1,000 different answers. Here's what I like to do:

* I like to do low intensity fasted cardio. Most mornings I will go for a 45 minute-1 hour walk. Sometimes I will jog half the time. When fasted though my intensity is always LOW. If I really wanted to drop bodyfat I would go for fasted morning walks and a walk after my last meal.

* I like to do high intensity cardio at least twice a week. I run sprints at least twice a week. Not a LOT, but high in intensity. Your interval or HIIT type training would fit in here.

* I like to do many types of cardio. I'll jump rope, do complexes, go for long farmers walks, etc. Mix it up.

As for ab training I usually go 2-3 times per week. In one workout I'll focus on stabilization. This is where I hit planks, side planks, one legged planks on the ball, stir the pot, etc. In another workout I'll focus on "traditional" ab movements. This is where I hit swiss ball weighted crunches, hanging leg raises, and anything else typical. If I have three workouts I'll usually do static core work such as weighted side holds or rollouts. To me I don't understand why people treat abs any different than anything else. Hit them hard 2-3 times a week and you'll have success.

Hope this helps.
 

MakaveliThaDon

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that covers it pretty well with regards to cardio and all the different opinions your going to hear about the most effective way to do it is. I'd like to throw in a few thoughts about training abs though.

The best piece of advice I ever got with regards to training abs was when someone told me that the abs are a muscle, and should be trained as such. You wouldn't do 100 bicep curls with no weight 7 times a week to make your biceps grow would you? Hit them heavy, with weight, weighted cable crunches, weighted leg raises, etc, 2 to 3x a week. Planks are fantastic as well.

It's true abs are made in the kitchen, but core strength is important, as well as having nice muscular abs underneath for when the kitchen DOES cut the bf off of them for all to see.
 
jumpshot903

jumpshot903

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As Seccsi mentioned cardio is largely dependent on the person that is doing it, everyone has different goals for performance and their overall body structure if your looking to strictly gain size you'll want to do different types of cardio then someone looking to improve athletic performance. Speaking from my standpoint my goal is overall atheltic performance and strength i weight lift 4 times a week and following each lifting session i do ab work then run a hard mile, now the ab work is different each 4 days and varies each week ive done abs every day before and seen improvement in the end its something largely dependent on diet to get a six pack not your ab work so how much ab work you do will only be part of the equation.

Revisiting cardio, its key to utilize different forms of cardio as mentioned above i tend to do hard sprints mixed with long distances as well as doing agility and speed workouts i also mix in some boxing workouts another key is to stretch and stretch a lot after every training session its vital to stretch.
 

viking805fan

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Alright, thanks for the advance. I'll will be doing abs 3 times a week hitting different area of the abs each time. Would doing 15-20 of cardio be fine after each of my workouts??? For example, walk for 5min, run for 10min, the ending it with a 5min walk again. would that be fine?
 
seccsi

seccsi

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Alright, thanks for the advance. I'll will be doing abs 3 times a week hitting different area of the abs each time. Would doing 15-20 of cardio be fine after each of my workouts??? For example, walk for 5min, run for 10min, the ending it with a 5min walk again. would that be fine?
That would be fine, but I would mix things up. Throw in some jump rope tabatas one day, do hard sprints one day, go for a longer run one day, etc.
 

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