Working through ab exercises before a cardio workout will also help you activate your core, which will stabilize your body and protect you from injury as you go through your cardio routine. (Here's a set of ab activation exercises that will get your core firing before a cardio workout.)
The best time to exercise abs is usually before cardio. This way, you can get your heart rate up and burn more calories. Additionally, exercising abs before cardio helps to engage and strengthen the core muscles, which can make the cardio workout more effective.
If you're doing a short resistance-training session (less than 30 minutes), you should likely be OK on an empty stomach, Schlichter says. But high-intensity, interval-based, or long-duration strength workouts really do require eating something ahead of time to help you feel your best.
Whether you are trying to put on weight or lose fat, always perform cardio after workout. Your first priority should be strength training.
Usually abs are trained after, because they are used for support for the other exercises. Doing them before could affect the performance of other, especially full-body, exercises. However, a light set before can be used as part of the warm-up.
Cardio exercise
Endless crunches won't do much if your abdominal muscles are buried under excess body fat. Cardio is key to burning calories and losing weight. Cycling and walking are two low-impact forms of cardio that I often recommend to clients.
The best ab workouts should train all of the muscles and regions of the abs in the order of my Six Pack Progression: (1) lower abs (2) bottom up (3) obliques (4) mid-range (5) top-down rotation (6) top down.
Doing a cardio workout after weight training is ideal if you want to lose fat and get stronger.
Cardio has been shown to specifically reduce visceral fat, meaning belly fat. While it's clear weight training burns fat better than cardio, cardio training may target the waistline more specifically than lifting weights. That's a huge benefit, as many people are actively seeking to cut inches around the midsection.
Start with whichever type of exercise is most critical for your fitness goals. Doing weight training before cardio may help you increase muscle strength. If you want to improve endurance, doing cardio before weights is the better approach.
That plan is called the 30-30-30 rule. It's a simple but catchy idea that encourages you to eat 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up and then get 30 minutes of low-intensity exercise. The 30-30-30 rule now has millions of followers on TikTok.
But if you're doing a long and/or intense cardio workout on an empty stomach, it may lead to low blood sugar levels, which could be dangerous and present in symptoms like headaches, dizziness, shakiness, and fatigue. In addition, you may not want to rely on fasted cardio if you're trying to build or maintain muscle.
To burn off visceral fat, your first step is to include at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise or cardio into your daily routine. Studies show that aerobic exercises for belly fat help reduce belly fat and liver fat. Some great cardio of aerobic exercises for belly fat include: Walking, especially at a quick pace.
Working through ab exercises before a cardio workout will also help you activate your core, which will stabilize your body and protect you from injury as you go through your cardio routine. (Here's a set of ab activation exercises that will get your core firing before a cardio workout.)
So, Can You Do Ab Workouts Every Day? More isn't always better. Generally speaking, Jay says, most people shouldn't do ab workouts more than six times a week. Not only do your abs need a break, but so does the rest of your body.
Aerobic exercise includes any activity that raises your heart rate such as walking, dancing, running or swimming. This can also include doing housework, gardening and playing with your children. Other types of exercise such as strength training, Pilates and yoga can also help you lose belly fat.
The more you exercise, the more calories you'll burn. If you're trying to lose weight, you should aim for doing cardio at least five days per week for a total of at least 250 minutes (4 hours, 10 minutes) each week. Contrary to what many believe, you can do aerobic exercise seven days per week.
So, for instance, if building strength is your top goal, Silva recommends starting with weight-lifting. “Conversely, if improving your aerobic endurance is your priority, starting with running ensures you have the energy to train effectively,” he says.
A strong core helps stabilize your body during the running motion, improving your overall form and reducing the risk of injury. By engaging your abs first, you ensure that your core is primed and ready for the demands of running. Starting your workout with ab exercises can boost your energy levels.
But for the best results, aim for two-three sessions a week. Start with 20 seconds per set and two sets per workout, gradually increasing the time to a minute. Then, you can try more challenging variations. Planks are a great coordination exercise for your core, especially when you're working on other muscle groups.