- Fitness beginners can take advantage of “Newbie Gains” to make rapid progress.
- For strong abs, the trainer says compound exercises like deadlifts, presses, and rows are best.
- Good nutrition, smart exercise, and tracking your strength progress can also help, he said.
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A strong core is a common goal of gym goers, but if you are new to training you may have an advantage in building abs.
When you begin strength training, you can take advantage of a phenomenon known as “novice gains,” an initial phase of rapid improvement in strength and muscle mass. While newbies can result in impressive overall progress, Noam Tamir, Founder and CEO of TS Fitness in New York City, requires a specific strategy to get well-defined abs.
“If you want to see your abs, you have to reduce body fat. You can’t see any training, ”he told Insider. “It’s about getting consistent with exercise and making small changes to your diet.”
Add compound movements like deadlifts, squats, presses, and rows to your workout
To get the most out of your time in the gym, Tamir recommends movements that involve multiple large muscle groups when lifting a barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells.
Examples include overhead presses, squats, rows, and deadlifts, all of which activate your core muscles to stabilize and control the weight.
Compound lifts are more efficient than crunches or sit-ups alone because they target larger muscle groups and burn more calories.
Weightlifting also provides additional calorie expenditure after you finish your workout while your muscles recover from exertion, known as the afterburn effect.
Prioritize nutrition
To get more defined abs, most people need to reduce their body fat percentage through a calorie deficit by burning more energy than they use up.
“If people want to lose body fat, I’m really preaching the nutrition side,” Tamir said.
Since it is much faster (and easier) to ingest calories than it is to burn them, attempting to maintain a calorie deficit through exercise alone can lead to overtraining and burnout, especially among beginners, Tamir said.
An important part of the diet is getting enough protein, which requires more energy for digestion and keeps you full longer, which makes it useful for weight loss. One strategy is to consume a source of protein (like lean meat, eggs, fish, tofu, yogurt, or beans) and product (leafy greens, veggies, or fruits) every time you eat, registered nutritionist Brigitte Zeitlin said previously to Insider.
Work smarter, not harder
Steady state cardio, which involves running or cycling at low intensity for extended periods of time, is a popular fat burning strategy to help expose the abs. But it can be time consuming.
Instead of spending hours on the treadmill, Tamir recommends ending your workouts with metabolic resistance training or periods of high-intensity weightlifting with short rest periods to keep your heart rate high.
You can also incorporate high-intensity interval training (HIIT) a few times a week to burn more calories, he said.
Stay motivated by celebrating strength progression
It can take weeks or months to see significant changes in the mirror, so looking for any visible changes can be frustrating. Tamir recommends pursuing strength and skill improvements, e.g. B. How much weight you lift, how many reps you do, and how you feel after your workout.
“At first, you may feel dead and sore after your workout, but you may be ready to do more in a few weeks,” he said.
Seeing these improvements can be rewarding and motivate you to stick with your exercise routine.
“One of the first things that happens is neurological changes that you can’t see in the mirror, but can improve strength very quickly,” said Tamir.