The hugely successful food industries in North America and Western Europe have caused approximately 65% of their populations to become overweight, statistics show. Efficiency in food production- especially in meats and sweets has made it difficult for most people to maintain healthy eating habits.
The only thing that can counter the nutritional quagmire that we’re in is constant exercise. Sadly, a lot of people find it a challenge to stick to a regular exercise program and thus are suffering from all sorts of health problems from diabetes to high blood pressure and heart disease.
Of the noble members of society that picked-up their arms to join the war against excess fat and high blood pressure, only a few emerge victorious. This can be attributed lack of motivation brought about by improper exercise and thus, slow results.
A majority of gym goers or fitness aficionados start workout programs to lose body fat and get flat six pack abs. When results come too slow, this results in boredom and because they become disheartened, a lot of people give up exercising regularly.
It’s been found that abdominal and back exercises done on round, unstable surfaces (like a Swiss ball) are most effective in developing the core muscles. Doing these along with weight-training and high-intensity aerobic exercise can pave the way to rapid calorie-burn and melted belly fat.
The core or center of the body is our midsection and these are made-up of the upper and lower abdominals, the obliques and the muscles of the lower back. A lot of people only focus on conventional ab isolation exercises like sit-ups and crunches and neglect the lower back region. This causes an imbalance of core muscle strength and can result in back pain.
A faster abs workout that can give you a stronger core in less time can be attained through the use of tools like a Swiss ball or a Bosu ball. Both of these have round surfaces which when used as support for the body when executing abdominal or other resistance exercises will force the core muscles to work harder. The effort of trying to keep steady while working out on an unstable surface means more calories burned and improved core strength faster.
The amount of calories burned while doing abdominal exercises on an exercise ball or other round surface is increased significantly compared to doing sit-ups and crunches flat on one’s back. Studies show that more muscle fibers are engaged in activity when a person is lying on a round surface. The wider range of motion means more calories spent and hence a faster abs workout.
