Karen from Ohio asks AbFitt: What type of cardio will best result in defining my Ab's.
Answer:
The cardio you do.
Whether it be running, cycling, swimming, elliptical, jumping jacks, complexes with an Olympic barbell, skip rope ...they all burn fat & calories resulting in less body fat & better abdominal definition.
So, the "best" cardio is relative to you, and it ultimately comes down to what you enjoy doing the most. Since you need to do cardio consistently to get the best fat loss results, there's no point in doing something you hate --- because the more you hate it, the more you will make excuses not to do it.
My preference is boxing or skipping rope. Why? Am I a masochist? Maybe, but that's beside the point. For me, boxing is meditative & instinctive. I always feel energized afterward. Best of all, I get to do it at my home gym or a professional boxing club. Time away from your traditional facility's.
I can anticipate your next question. How should you do cardio? Low-intensity? high intensity? intervals? ... I don't think it matters. I've tried everything, and I can't say which style or method of cardio is better. Which brings me back to my main thesis: *** Do what you enjoy. *** For me it is high/low intensity in short burst's. definitely no muscle burning steady state cardio.
What's more important is that you do what you enjoy regularly. By regularly, I mean 5 times a week, or more. If you're new to cardio, start at twice a week and build up from there.
Another question: When should you do cardio? Before weights? after? eight hours apart? twelve hours? ... You can probably guess my answer. When you want to. As long as you're actually doing cardio, I don't think it matters when you do it. So just figure out what time you like best. For me, I like training weights in the evening or early afternoon, and then boxing or other interval type cardio sessions on alternate days. Spring/summer/fall. Winter I usually stick to the gyms due to the extreme winter's in the northeast.
I'm out of questions. If you have any more, feel free to ask AbFitt at AbFitt@mail.com