To flatten your stomach your workouts will need to consist of a combination of challenging and frequent cardio plus a varied abdominal exercise routine. The cardio, along with a healthy low-fat diet, will help burn off fat by creating a calorie deficit in your body. The abdominal exercises will help to tone and shape the rectus abdominis, or six-pack muscles, and also the side oblique muscles.
Abs Exercises
The bicycle kick, or flutter kick, is the best exercise to perform to work out the entire area of abdominal, according to the American Council on Exercise. It works the upper, lower and obliques at the same time. The Shape Fit website shows a visual demonstration of the exercise. The captain's chair exercise is effective for the lower abs while the stability ball sit-up is a good isolation exercise for the upper abs.
Circuit Training
You can find a circuit training class at most gyms. These are effective training routines for burning off fat as they prevent the body from entering a comfort zone. A standard circuit has 10 to 12 work stations. These stations each have a different exercise, varying from light free weights, star jumps, situps, cardio bikes, or shuttle runs. Normally you will spend a minute or one set on each station before moving to the next.
Interval Training
Interval training is a technique used by many serious fitness enthusiasts, including sports professionals. Simply apply intervals of high and low work rate to your favorite cardio exercise. For example, for a cycle workout you would vary the session so that for one minute you would tackle a steep incline for one minute and then ride a plateau for two minutes, then a steep incline for a minute, repeating the pattern.
Active Hobbies
Taking up an active hobby is a fun and sometimes social way of flattening your stomach. The fact that it is fun means that you no longer have to push yourself with sheer willpower to turn up to the gym each day. MayoClinic.com lists that sports like basketball, volleyball, tennis and swimming are great fat burners. The fun hobby of rollerblading is second only to running in its effectiveness to burn off fat.
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