When you look into a mirror and see excess fat in your midsection, there is one thing you need to realize -- ab exercises will not flatten your stomach. This is the flawed myth known as spot reduction. To truly lose the bulge, you have to promote weight loss through your body as a whole by doing cardiovascular exercise. Reserve ab exercises for toning as you lose the weight.
Choosing the Right Type of Exercise
All forms of cardio are on an even playing field when it comes to flattening your stomach. The most important thing is that you do something you enjoy. This will keep you motivated to stick with your program until you melt away the pounds of abdominal fat. Running, cycling, elliptical training, stair climbing, swimming and kickboxing are all good choices.
Warm up
When you perform cardio, multiple muscles and joints get activated simultaneously. Failing to stretch before your cardio sessions will increase your risk for an injury, and this will prevent you from getting a flat stomach. The best approach is to perform a series of dynamic stretches before your workouts to get your body acclimated to movement. Dynamic stretches involve steady movements through a range of motion. Incorporate stretches like trunk rotations, side bends, leg swings, walking lunges, arm crossovers, shoulder circles and ankle bounces.
Length of Workouts
The amount of time you devote to cardio plays a big role in your fat reduction. The American College of Sports Medicine notes that it can take 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity performed five days a week to see weight-loss results. If you do not have time to fit this all into one session, exercise more than once a day. Accumulated exercise is still beneficial for flattening your stomach.
Tips for Faster Results
Steady-pace, long-duration cardio works well for fat reduction, but you can give yourself a boost by doing sprint training. This is performed by alternating back and forth between all-out bursts of speed and rest. Following this protocol causes you to burn more calories than steady-pace training and it also increases your metabolism when you are finished. As an added bonus, you also have to contract your abs forcefully to generate power. Apply this method to any form of cardio. Being that it is so intense, you do not need to exercise as long. After doing a five- to 10-minute warmup at a light pace, exercise for 20 to 30 minutes. Use a one to two ratio of sprinting to rest. For example, sprint for 15 seconds and rest for 30.
Diet and Belly Fat
Your diet has a lot to do with obtaining a flat stomach. Burning calories through cardio is great, but you can easily cancel that progress by following an unhealthy diet. For the best results, cut back on your calories and eat healthy, high-nutrient foods like fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains and beans.
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