This feature of the abdominal muscles takes its name from Adonis, the legendary god of fertility, youth, and beauty.

The grooves of the Adonis belt are, in fact, ligaments, not muscles. This means that cultivating an Adonis belt requires the loss of fat, not the creation of muscle.

What is the Adonis belt?

The two shallow grooves of the adonis belt are ligaments rather than muscles.

The Adonis belt is a thick band of connective tissue that runs through the external oblique abdominal muscles, across the groin, and into the front portion of the iliac spine.

People who are relatively physically weak may have a visible inguinal ligament, while powerful and fit people might not. Instead, the Adonis belt is associated with body fat.

People with less body fat are more likely to have a visible Adonis belt.

This means a person could spend several hours each day on abdominal exercises and still not develop an Adonis belt or any other visible sign of abdominal strength.

For a person to have visible abdominal muscles, their percentage of body fat needs to be below 15 percent. For the Adonis belt to make an appearance, body fat might need to be as low as 6-13 percent.

How to get one

A protein rich diet may boost feelings of fullness and aid weight loss.

To get an Adonis belt, one might think it makes sense to exercise the abdominal and hip muscles.

The problem is that this strategy does not work. The notion that it is possible to reduce fat in a particular area of the body with targeted exercises is a myth.

Strengthening a muscle to increase its size will not make it visible under the fat. Both diet and exercise play a role in reducing body fat.

Because genetics can affect body fat percentage, it is easier for some people to develop an Adonis belt than others.

Dieting for an Adonis belt

Eating fewer calories than the body needs for energy can support fat loss. That means cutting down on total caloric intake. It can also help to cut back on sweetened snacks and carbohydrates.

Some foods also require more energy to burn than others. Protein is one such food. It can also promote feelings of fullness, making it an ideal choice for people trying to avoid overeating.

And because protein is vital for muscle development, increasing protein intake can support healthy, visible abdominal muscles.

Exercises for reducing body fat

Activities that involve large groups of muscles and which get the heart pumping burn more fat than targeted exercises such as crunches and sit-ups.

Try intensive cardiovascular exercises such as:

• running
• swimming
• jumping rope
• punching-bag workouts
• sprints
• cardio-heavy sports, such as football, tennis, or other athletics

The longer the exercise is performed and the more exhausting it feels, the more calories - and therefore the more fat - it will burn.

Exercises

Building muscle can help the body burn more calories, and therefore shed more fat. Strengthening the muscles surrounding the inguinal ligament can help the area look more defined, and support fat burning. Try the following:

Planks

Planks strengthen and stabilize the back and abdominal muscles. Lie on the stomach with the elbows bent and forearms flat on the ground. Elevate the trunk off the ground while tensing the abdominal muscles. Hold for 5 seconds, gradually building to longer holds.

Next, try a side plank. Lie on one side with the legs positioned one on top of the other. Rest on a bent elbow. Then engage the abs by tightening them and raise the trunk and hips off the ground. Hold for 5 seconds, building gradually to a hold of 30 seconds or longer.

Stomach vacuum

Stand up straight and take a deep breath into the stomach. Then exhale all the air from the lungs, drawing the stomach in. Envision the belly button moving toward the spine, sucking the stomach in as far as possible. Hold for 5-10 seconds, and repeat for several breaths. Once the stomach vacuum exercise is mastered, it is possible to perform while lying or sitting.

Lateral heel touches

Lateral heel touches target the obliques, which complement the appearance of an Adonis belt. Lie on the back with the knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Keep the arms extended out and parallel with the floor. While engaging the abdominal muscles, lift the head, neck, and upper back off the ground. Bend right to touch the right heel, then left to touch the left heel. Repeat for 5-10 repetitions.

Exercise ball crunches

Exercises that strengthen the muscles surrounding the inguinal ligament may give a more defined appearance.

Exercise ball crunches more effectively engage the abs than traditional crunches. Lie on an exercise ball such that the ball is positioned at the small of the back.

With the abs engaged and feet flat on the ground, perform a crunch by lifting the head, neck, and upper torso. The arms can be across the chest, behind the head, or extended straight, but should not be used to make it easier to crunch up. Repeat 5-10 times for 3-5 sets.

Risks

In a culture fixated on thinness, it is easy to see body fat as bad. Fat, however, plays a protective role. Everyone needs some fat to be healthy. Women are especially vulnerable to health problems when they shed too much body fat, because they have higher body fat percentages than men. Women with very low body fat may not menstruate, which can undermine or prevent fertility.

Women with body fat percentages below 15 percent are at risk of several health problems. This means that it may be difficult, and perhaps even impossible, for women to develop an Adonis belt and remain healthy. For men, health tends to decline when body fat dips below 8 percent, so most men can safely develop an Adonis belt.

Source: medicalnewstoday

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By strengthening our muscles, we improve our lifespan.

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications describes how exercise helps the body to keep the cells in the muscles healthy and strong.

"Whether muscle is healthy or not really determines whether the entire body is healthy or not," says lead researcher Prof. Zhen Yan, of the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville.

"And exercise capacity, mainly determined by muscle size and function," he adds, "is the best predictor of mortality in the general population."

According to the new study, exercise improves muscle health by renewing its cellular powerhouse: the mitochondria. Mitochondria are crucial to the good functioning of our bodies, as well as to our overall health and longevity.

These tiny parts of the cell turn the food we eat into energy. Mitochondria transform proteins, fats, and sugars into the fuel that the body needs to live.

So, how does exercise affect the mitochondria in the muscles?

Exercise promotes mitophagy in mice

The answer given by the new study is through "mitophagy." Mitophagy describes the process by which damaged or defective mitochondria are selected and removed, usually after a period of stress.

In the case of muscles, mitophagy contributes to keeping skeletal muscle healthy and strong. And to show how exercise induces mitophagy, Prof. Yan and team genetically modified mice to carry a gene that helps to report on the effects of physical activity.

This gene is called pMitoTimer. It makes mitochondria fluorescent, allowing the researchers to study mitophagy in vivo, after the mice engaged in 90 minutes of treadmill running.

Three to 12 hours after the running session, the researchers observed that mitochondria showed signs of stress. After 6 hours, they saw signs of mitophagy.

Prof. Yan explains the effect of exercise on mitochondria through an analogy that includes a vehicle inspection, the purpose of which is to remove defective cars from the streets.

"Aerobic exercise removes damaged mitochondria in skeletal muscle. If you do it repeatedly, you keep removing the damaged ones. You have a better muscle with better mitochondrial quality. We clean up the clunkers, now the city, the cell, is full of healthy, functional cars."

Prof. Zhen Yan

Chemical reaction in mitophagy identified

The researchers also identified the molecular mechanism behind the process. The treadmill workout seemed to activate a kinase called AMPK.

A kinase is an enzyme that modifies other proteins through a process called phosphorylation. In this biochemical process, phosphate groups are added to proteins.

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The researchers determined that, in a biochemical chain reaction, AMPK triggers another kinase called Ulk1.

Prof. Yan continues the vehicle inspection analogy, saying, "When [it's] turned on, Ulk1 activates other components in the cell to execute the removal of dysfunctional mitochondria."

"It's analogous to a 911 call where a tow truck removes the clunkers. However," he says, "we still do not know how these activities are coordinated."

To confirm their discovery - that Ulk1 plays a critical role in mitophagy - the team created a mouse model lacking the Ulk1 gene. These mice were also subjected to treadmill exercise, but the ensuing mitophagy was considerably inhibited.

"Mice that were unable to do mitophagy did not have the benefit of exercise," explains study co-author Joshua Drake, a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Yan's laboratory.

"Even though, from an exercise standpoint, they still were able to run just as far as normal mice, they didn't benefit metabolically with training," he adds.

"These findings provide direct evidence of exercise-induced mitophagy and demonstrate the importance of Ampk-Ulk1 signaling in skeletal muscle," the authors conclude.

Source: medicalnewstoday

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