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A chiseled midsection doesn't just look good; it's also good for your running
There are two types of runners: those who have great abs, and those who want them.
Go ahead, admit it:
you want great abs! It’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, some
scientists, including Devendra Singh, Ph.D., an evolutionary
psychologist at the University of Texas, speculate that we humans are
genetically predisposed to covet a lean midsection, because it’s a sign
of good health and “reproductive fitness”.
Besides looking good,
great abs really are healthy. Research has shown that, for both
genders, there is a strong correlation between the amount of abdominal
fat a person has and the risk of developing metabolic diseases such as
heart disease and diabetes. Obviously, men and women with visible
abdominal muscles have a small amount of belly fat and therefore a
lower risk for these diseases.
There’s another pair
of benefits to having great abs that is specific to runners: better
running performance and fewer injuries. Visible abdominal muscles
result not just from having a small amount of abdominal fat but also
from having well conditioned core musculature. Strong abs increase the
stability of your hips, pelvis, and even your knees during running. The
result is less strain on your muscles and connective tissues and
consequently less chance of injury. Also, by minimizing wasteful
movement at the joints, strong abs make your stride more efficient, so
you can run faster, longer.
How do you get great
abs? Running is a good start, because it burns fat. But running alone
won’t do the job. You also have to eliminate those extra calories from
your diet that are turned into belly fat. Even if you run 50 miles a
week, your paunch won’t vanish if you continue to eat donuts and french
fries all day long. Finally, you need to condition your abdominal
muscles with core strength exercises, because even with a very small
amount of belly fat your core muscles won’t show through if they are
poorly conditioned.
Since you’re already running, let’s look at how you can make your diet leaner and your abs stronger.
Part 1: Your “Abs Diet”
To get great abs you
need to get leaner, or shed body fat while preserving your lean muscle
mass. In terms of diet, the best way to get leaner is to consume just
enough calories to nourish your muscles, but not enough to continue
feeding your excess body fat. This is easier than you think.
Imagine you’ve already
achieved a lean body, complete with great abs, and your goal now is to
keep it. The eating patterns required to do so are those that you
should put into practice now. In other words, if your ideal body weight
is 150 pounds, you should eat enough calories each day to sustain 150
pounds of bodyweight, regardless of how much you currently weigh.
There’s no surefire
way to predict your ideal body weight, but most people are pretty good
at estimating how many pounds of fat they could stand to lose. It takes
just 2 calories to sustain an entire pound of body fat for one day. So
all you have to do is trim 2 calories a day for every pound of excess
body fat you’re now carrying and you will find yourself eating to
sustain your ideal body weight—as long as your current weight is
holding steady. If you’ve been gaining weight recently, you’ll need to
trim 3 or 4 calories per pound.
Does this mean you
only need to cut 20 to 40 calories per day to lose 10 pounds of excess
body fat? Yes and no. By doing this you will eventually lose
10 pounds of body fat, but not as quickly as you would like. If you
want to lose your fat more quickly, take advantage of the fact that
you’re a runner by allowing your body fat to help fuel your running,
instead of your diet alone.
For each additional
calorie you remove from your diet, your muscles will take an extra
calorie from your body fat stores while you run. You don’t want to cut
too many calories or you’ll begin depleting your muscle carbohydrate
stores and compromise your post-workout recovery—not to mention you’ll
be hungry all day. But you can certainly trim 100-200 calories per day
(in addition to 2-4 calories per pound of excess body fat) without
spoiling your running or having to hear your stomach growl constantly.
When you achieve the
lean body composition you’re looking for, you can actually ease these
100-200 calories back into your diet without any risk of regaining the
body fat you lost.
Key Substitutions
The good news is that
you don’t have to go on any kind of formal weight loss diet to trim
this modest number of calories. Eating to sustain your optimal body fat
level does not require eating less. By merely replacing some of the
foods you currently eat with lower-calorie alternatives, or even by
simply adjusting the proportions of foods you’re already eating in
meals, you can trim a few hundred calories from your daily intake and
start getting leaner. Check out these examples:
Breakfast
Instead of: 1 cup Wheaties cereal with 2% milk
Eat this: ½ cup Wheaties with fresh strawberries and 2% milk
Why: Due to their high
fiber and water content, fresh fruits have a very low caloric density
compared to most other foods, meaning they fill more space in your
stomach with fewer calories. By adding fresh fruit to meals and
reducing the portions of other foods, you can trim significant calories
and still feel satisfied.
Calories Saved: 46
Instead of: Grande Starbucks Caffe Latte with nonfat milk, no whip cream
Drink this: Tall Starbucks coffee with half-n-half and sugar
Why: Coffee has
minimal calories, but the fancy coffee drinks made with syrup and milk
(or soy milk) are bona fide calorie bombs, especially when you order
the larger sizes. Ordering nonfat milk and holding the whip cream helps
a little, but for a truly lean caffeine fix go back to a medium-size
coffee sweetened with a little cream and sugar.
Calories Saved: 120
Snack
Instead of: PowerBar Triple Threat
Eat this: Kettle Valley Real Fruit Bar
Why: Energy bars are
convenient and tasty snacks, but most of them pack a ton of
calories. While many nutrition experts are fond of dismissing all
energy bars as “candy bars in disguise”, some are actually fairly light
and healthy. Read labels and choose a bar with 150 calories or fewer.
Calories Saved: 90
Lunch
Instead of: Turkey sub
Eat this: Turkey wrap
Why: One of the few
positive legacies of the low-carb diet craze is the popularization of
wraps as a lower-calorie alternative to sandwiches. Tortillas have
fewer calories than bulky sandwich rolls, and it’s easier to stuff a
wrap than a sandwich with veggies. Just be sure not to spoil your wraps
with too much mayo, heavy salad dressings, and the like.
Calories Saved: 80
Instead of this: Baked potato chips
Eat this: Baby carrots dipped in ranch dressing
Why: Most “light”
alternatives to snack chips are still relatively high in calories and
low in overall nutrition. Plain baby carrots, while very light, don’t
provide the same satisfaction as chips, but when dipped in ranch
dressing they do (while remaining low in calories).
Calories saved: 54
Snack
Instead of: Trail mix (2 parts nuts to 1 part dried fruit)
Eat this: Dried fruit (2 parts dried fruit to 1 part)
Why: While trail mixes
that contain only nuts and dried fruit are quite nutritious, those with
more nuts than fruit are also heavy on calories. You can make this
snack significantly lighter by choosing a mix with more fruit than nuts.
Calories Saved: 116
Dinner
Instead of: Chicken (4 oz) and vegetable (3/4 cup) stir-fry with white rice (1 cup)
Eat this: Chicken (3 oz) and vegetable (1 cup) stir-fry with brown rice (3/4 cup)
Why: You can lower the
number of calories in almost any dinner menu by increasing its
vegetable content and shrinking its meat and starch content. This is
due to the fact that veggies have a much lower caloric density. You can
lighten your dinner further by swapping a refined grain for a whole
grain. For example, brown rice, a whole grain, has 26 fewer calories
per cup than white rice, a refined grain.
Other examples of ways
to make this type of substitution are as follow: spaghetti and marina
sauce with less pasta, less cheese and more sautéed veggies; a burrito
with less meat, more beans, and grilled veggies added; kabobs with less
meat and more veggies; and pizza with a thinner crust, less cheese, and
vegetable toppings added (e.g. tomatoes and green peppers). Use
whole-wheat spaghetti, tortillas, and pizza flour.
Calories Saved: 87
Dessert
Instead of: Fruit sorbet
Eat this: Dark chocolate (1 piece)
Why: Some desserts
have fewer calories than others, and sorbet is lighter than most. But
dark chocolate is the world’s best dessert by far. Dark chocolate
releases mood-boosting serotonin in the brain, so just a single
50-calorie piece can satisfy you better than a whole bowl of
sorbet. And the antioxidants in dark chocolate are good for the heart.
Calories saved: 100
Part II: The 5 Best Abs Exercises for Runners
Strong abdominal
muscles don’t just look good, but they also help you run better and
prevent injuries. There are dozens of abdominal exercises you can use
to strengthen your midsection; the best ones for runners are those that
have the most functional carryover to the act of running.
These five exercises
are the best of the best. Each will benefit your running in a slightly
different way. Start by doing one set of each exercise 2 or 3 times per
week and build up to 2 or 3 sets of each, 3 times per week.
Stick Crunch
Benefit: strengthens the abdominal wall and improves the stability of the pelvis and lower spine during running.
Lie on your back, bend
your knees, and draw them as close to your chest as possible. Grasp any
type of stick or rod (such as a broom handle) with both hands,
positioned shoulder-width apart. Begin with your arms extended straight
toward your toes. Now squeeze your abdominal muscles and reach forward
with the stick until it passes beyond your toes. (This is a very small
movement—just a few inches.) Pause for one second and relax. Do 15 to
30 repetitions.
Lying Draw-In with Hip Flexion
Benefit: teaches your deep abs to stabilize the pelvis during alternating leg movements
Lay face up with your
head supported by a large pillow or foam roller. Begin with your legs
bent 90 degrees and your thighs perpendicular to the floor, feet
together. Engage your deep abs by drawing your navel toward your spine.
While holding this contraction, slowly lower your right foot to the
floor, return slowly to the starting position, and then lower the left
foot. If you find this easy, you are failing to hold the contraction of
your deep abs. Lower each foot to the floor 8 to 10 times. Progress by
adding repetitions.
Hip Twist
Benefit: strengthens the abdominal muscles that prevent excessive trunk rotation during runningLay
face up with your arms resting at your sides and your palms flat on the
floor. Extend your legs directly toward the ceiling, keeping your feet
together, and point your toes. Keeping your big toes side-by-side, tip
your legs 12 to 18 inches to the right by twisting at the hip, so that
your left buttock comes off the floor. Fight the pull of gravity by
maintaining stability with your abs and obliques. Pause for a moment,
then return slowly to the start position, again using your core muscles
to control the movement. Repeat on the left side. Do 8-10 repetitions
on each side.
Oblique Bridge
Benefit: strengthens the muscles involved in maintaining lateral stability at the hips, pelvis, and spine
Lay on your side with
your ankles together and your torso propped up by your upper arm. Lift
your hips upward until your body forms a diagonal plank from ankles to
neck. Hold this position for 20 seconds, concentrating on not allowing
your hips to sag towards the floor. Reverse your position and repeat.
Progress by increasing the duration you hold the bridge position. To
increase the challenge further, perform several leg lifts from the
bridge position.
Supine Running
Benefit: strengthens the lower abs and hip flexors with a running-specific leg action
Lay face up with your
arms resting at your sides. Begin with your legs extended and your feet
raised two inches above the floor, heels together. Press the small of
your back into the floor. Now draw your left knee toward your head
while keeping your right leg extended and your lower spine in contact
with the floor. Return to the starting position and then draw your left
knee toward your head. Repeat 8-12 times with each leg.
Sidebar: Lean by the Numbers
There’s an expression
that many coaches, trainers, and dietitians use: “What gets measured
gets managed”. In other words, if you’re trying to control some factor
in your life, you’ll get better results if you measure it
frequently. This principle certainly applies to getting leaner.
Measuring your body
fat allows you to pursue the goal of getting leaner objectively. The
easiest way to measure your body fat is to purchase a body fat scale
for home use. These devices use bioelectrical impedance (a small
electrical impulse sent through your body) to estimate body fat
percentage with excellent accuracy. Body fat scales made by companies
such as Tanita and Taylor are widely available at department stores,
pharmacies, and sporting goods stores for as little as $40. Use them
the same way you do a regular bathroom scale (just step on and read the
display).
The American Council on Exercise offers the following guidelines for body fat percentage in men and women:
Once you have
determined your current body fat percentage, set incremental goals to
improve it, checking your progress every two weeks or so. If you are
currently above the acceptable range, set a modest initial goal of
moving down into this range. If you’re currently in the middle of the
acceptable range, set a goal of moving down into the fitness range.
Don’t automatically
aim straight for the bottom of the athletic range. Not everyone can
safely get there, and no one gets there overnight. There is no specific
body fat percentage associated with great-looking abs, but one thing is
certain: by actively reducing your measured body fat percentage through
good nutrition and core conditioning you will develop great abs the
whole world can see.
Nutrition article courtesy of PacificHealth Laboratories, makers of nutrition tools such as Accelerade, Accel Gel, Endurox R4, Endurox Excel and much more. For product information or to purchase products, please visit www.pacifichealthlabs.com.
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