Do you
want a flat stomach? I don't know a person who doesn't!
People spend millions, if not billions of dollars, each year in the
quest for a flat stomach. Right now there are about 200 or more ab exercise devices out
there. There's the ab do-it, the ab rock-it, the ab roller, the ab dolly, and so many
more. You would think that with all of these amazing new products that most people would
be walking around with that nice, lean mid-section they've always wanted. Unfortunately,
that's not the case.
Most, if not all of these products, will do little or nothing to
flatten your stomach. And that's because these exercise contraptions cannot eliminate the
layer of fat that lies on top of your abs.
In order to be successful at thinning your waistline you must have a
basic under standing of how the ab muscles function and how your body burns fat. The first
thing that needs to be understood is the difference between fat and muscle. Fat is excess
calories and is primarily stored in layers on top of muscle tissue. Muscle is made up of
fibers that contract or shorten to produce movement. Fat cannot turn into muscle and
muscle cannot turn into fat! However, you can lose muscle and you can gain fat. That's
what happens to most people.
So if your goal is to thin your waist line and have a nice flat
stomach, the first thing you need to do is decrease / eliminate the layers of fat
that are on top of your abs. We all have a flat stomach; it's just some of
oar’s are covered by excess fat.
The most effective way of flattening your stomach is a
combination of strength training (with a extra focus on mid-section), cardiovascular
exercise (short, hard workouts), and stable blood sugar (keeps
you from adding additional fat and makes it easier for the body to use body fat for fuel).
- You must do some form of progressive strength training
The primary function of the ab muscle is to flex your torso forward.
However, there are also muscles that flex your torso to the side and muscles that rotate
your torso. Often times you see people on their ab roller every day doing hundreds of
crunches or sit-ups.
If you want to effectively strengthen your stomach you need to
incorporate the following types of exercises:
• 1-2 forward flexion exercises (crunch, sit-up, etc.)
• 1-2 side flexion exercises (side bends, side crunches, etc.)
• 1-2 rotational exercises (trunk rotations, standing twists, etc.)
The abs, are muscles just like any other and should be worked at most 3
times per week. You also want to make sure you are training them progressively, working
them harder each time.
- Use short, hard cardio workouts to increase metabolism
Cardio workouts are important because they CAN, if done correctly,
increase your metabolism for 4-24 hours or more! This means you are less likely to store
any excess calories as body fat because they are more likely to be used by your elevated
metabolism. Plus, you are more likely to burn off some excess body fat.
Below is a sample interval workout that can be done with just about any
activity (walking, bicycling, swimming, stair climbing, etc.).
Warm up at easy pace 2-5 minutes >> Perform 30 seconds of hard
work (almost as hard as possible) >> Perform 1 minute of moderate work (recovery
time-catch breath) >> Repeat this process 6-10 times >> Cool down at an easy
pace for 2-5 minutes
- Stable blood sugar is the key
And most importantly, you must stabilize your blood sugar! This
is by far the most important factor when it comes to burning away that excess body fat and
keeping it off! To effectively stabilize your blood sugar you must feed your body
frequently; like every 2-3 hours. The key is to give your body only what it needs at that
time. Your body burns calories 24 hours a day, so, why would you only feed it once or
twice a day? Give your body the fuel it needs: vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries,
whole grains, and lean proteins (chicken, fish, lean beef, eggs, etc.).
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