How easily and how quickly you are able to get abs will largely depend on genetics. However, studies have suggested that there are a number of factors that influence whether or not you can quickly change your shape.
Around 80% of the body's energy is burned during your daily activities, and you'll burn more fat when exercising vigorously than when you're sitting in front of the TV.
A small amount of your energy will also be conserved, with your body using food to regulate your energy levels, and keep your heart beating at a normal rate.
The majority of your daily energy expenditure, about a quarter, is done by your heart. After you've had a meal, the amount of energy that your heart must work to maintain an approximately constant heart rate decreases, but does not stop completely.
Several factors affect how much energy your heart can expend, such as what you eat for dinner the night before and how physically active you are. When you exercise, you cause the amount of energy your heart must work to decrease further.
Two factors which influence heart rate are the size and muscle strength of your heart.
At rest, the normal rate of your heart beat is around 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm). When your heart beats, it contracts and expands, and the bigger the muscle (i.e., the more muscular, the faster the heart beat), the more energy is required to contract it.
Muscle strength is also influenced by lifestyle, such as the amount of time you spend doing a particular exercise, and whether you are tall or short, and whether you are obese or overweight.
More muscular hearts require more energy to contract their muscles, making them more able to beat at higher rates.
Another factor is the rate at which your heart contracts. If your heart beat were as fast as you breathe (about 60-100bpm), you could only contract your heart muscle once every 3.2 seconds (every four seconds) and would never be able to contract it twice in a row.
However, if you can contract your heart muscle twice in a row, you can then contract it once every 2.7 seconds (every 2.5 seconds) and could beat it approximately four times per minute.
Studies have found that for most people, their resting heart rate is between 40 and 60 bpm. The average resting heart rate is slightly lower among women, and slightly higher among men.
If you do exercise vigorously, your heart rate will increase. When your heart beats, it uses up extra energy to maintain the speed of the muscle. So, if you do not do a particular activity for a long time, you will need to replace the energy you have burnt.
Studies have found that your resting heart rate increases about 0.5-1 bpm every 10 minutes when you exercise for 10 minutes. You should try to get this figure as high as possible when you exercise.
The above analysis is based on a person who is a typical recreational exerciser. You may find that your resting heart rate is different, or perhaps even higher, to this. This is not unusual, and the best way to find out how high you can get your resting heart rate is to do a simple blood test.
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