The unknowing consumer is constantly led to believe that ab gadgets help flatten the stomach. Although there is some validity to this, there is much more to the story than meets the eye. While exercise is essential, you have to pay attention to more than just your stomach to see results.
Cardio
The path to a flat stomach starts in the extremities, not the midsection. Only doing ab exercises will strengthen your muscles, but it will do little for the fat that keeps them hidden. The most effective way to flatten your stomach is by doing cardiovascular exercise. This involves repetitive movement of your arms and legs. When you do cardio, your heart rate becomes elevated, you break a sweat and you burn calories. The end result is weight loss throughout your whole body. To get the best results, perform sprint training. This speeds up your resting metabolism after you are done in what's called the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. As an added benefit, you are forced to contract your abs when you are going all out. Apply sprint training to running, biking, elliptical training or any other form of cardio that you enjoy.
Weight Lifting
Weight training is a form of exercise that helps you achieve a flat stomach. When you lift weights, you build muscle which spikes your resting metabolic rate and leads to a higher daily caloric expenditure. A pound of added muscle will cause you to burn 30 to 50 extra calories a day according to the University of Michigan Health System. The trick is to perform exercises on a stability ball. This will force you to contract your abs to maintain balance. Utilize your body weight and dumbbells for exercises like push-ups, seated shoulder presses, back extensions, lying triceps extensions, seated biceps curls and wall ball squats.
Full Recruitment
Ab training is more in-depth than doing one thousand crunches in a row. You need to pay more attention to strict form than high reps. Never use momentum with your exercises and make sure to squeeze your abs forcefully for a full second at the midpoint of your repetition. Take stability ball crunches for example. Lie on your back with your hands on the sides of your head and move your torso forward. Squeeze your abs forcefully, slowly lower yourself back down and repeat. Throughout the exercise, keep your lower body still. This exercise only targets the upper ab area. Include exercises that work your whole abdominal wall such as hanging knee raises, bicycle maneuvers, wheel rollouts and planks.
Resistance
Once you are able to do 15 to 25 reps easily with your ab exercises, add resistance to your workouts. This will tax your muscles all over again. Wear ankle weights and hold medicine balls, weight plates or dumbbells.
Importance of Diet
Exercise alone is not enough to get and maintain a flat stomach. You must also honor your diet. To lose stomach fat, reduce your daily intake and fill up on foods that have a low energy density such as fruits, vegetables, salad greens and whole grains. Your body will then rely on stored fat for energy and your stomach will decrease in size.
Member Comments