Should I be doing ab workouts?

Should I be working on my abs?I run a lot, but for the past week I've given it all up due to the shin splints that I had developed. I don't have access to cycling or swimming (I'm limited to those due to my injury), so I've turned to strength training. I've read that strengthening your core will help your running. There's one problem though, I'm a little chubby around my belly and I've read that ab workouts will only make me bulk... So should I be working out my abs or not? I want to burn fat (controlled diet) and have a toned body...Helppp thx :) I'm a 17 year old girl.

How to Workout to Lose Weight

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You should give it up forever. Here's why.Don't run for fitness alone. Run marathons if you compete and are willing to take the risk. But, don't run for fitness without a good reason because running is high impact and repetitive and that means risking problems if you run long distances for a long time. Running contributes to or causes shin splints, repetitive motion stress fractures, ACL strains or separations, plantar fasciiatis, early onset osteoarthritis, and much more. And, then there's this........In this book --> http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?… the coauthors make the following assertion."The scientific literature is filled with data that strongly make the case that long distance runners are much more likely to develop cardio-vascular disease, atrial fibrillation, cancer, liver and gallbladder disorders, muscle damage, kidney dysfunction (renal abnormalities), acute microthrombosis in the vascular system, brain damage, spinal degeneration, and germ-cell cancers than are their less active counterparts."Each assertion is footnoted. They're making the point that most people have "cardio" all wrong and don't really understand how to train to be fit. Even the American Heart Assoc. is no longer recommending jogging but "brisk walking" instead and they've included strength training as a tool to improved cardio-vascular health.And the problems continue...http://www.livestrong.com/article/388258-meniscus-knee-pain-and-running/http://www.today.com/health/running-farther-faster-longer-can-kill-you-1C7388868http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Why-Too-Much-Running-Is-Bad-for-Your-Healthhttp://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/marathon-running-is-bad-for-you-and-its-best-to-keep-exercise-to-a-maximum-of-50-minutes-a-day-say-doctors-8369266.html Okay, you're 17 so it's not likely you're going to worry about the arthritis you join replacements when you're my age. So, given that you'll keep running, you don't need to worry about your abs unless you're a sprinter. And, even then, the best way to train is to run.You use your abs constantly every day when you sit, stand, sit up, sneeze, cough, bend back, lift stuff, etc. They are among the core muscle that keep your spine from collapsing like a stack of poker chips. So, you don't really need to train them.Ab workouts won't make you bulk and even if they did, so what. Here are some very strong women...the London Olympics gold medal women's artistic gymnastics team. The have a ton of msucle so do you really think a strong set of abs is going to look bad?http://www.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/photo_galleries/regular_galleries/1822-2012-mtv-video-music-awards-what-the-stars-wore/photos/1346981138_2012vmas-14-1800.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F_JGEJ_oBOQ/UJ4dAR_2X5I/AAAAAAAAHJc/p5VnvqxbrDI/s1600/2Fierce+Five.jpghttp://www.bloomberg.com/image/ic7._nKp1ybE.jpg If you're going to keep running, diet down to 15% body fat. Get some skin fold calipers and learn how to use them to measure your percent body fat. They diet like this --> To find out how the best minds in nutrition in the world (at the US NIH) have recommended for decades we lose fat, read my answer about how to lose fat --> http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=As615QJM4X_3ID9_05qmmlXty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20111028185603AAVcP4D How you train your muscles will depend on the kind of running you do. And don't talk about toned bodies because "tone" is not a word. Tone is an ambiguous word with no clear definition. It comes from "tonus" which is the tension in muscle at rest. That's not something you can change unless a muscle is atrophied. Generally tonus has to do with age only and is something that muscles lose as people age.Because "tone" is a slang term which means different things to different people, it is best to avoid using it. For more, go here --> http://scoobysworkshop.com/toning/ Good luck and good health!!♠PS: Here are some good websites you may find useful.