health and wellness

It doesn’t come as a surprise that the best way to permanently lose belly fat is through the consistency basis of daily exercise and a proper diet. Researchers offer a plethora of data to support that the fastest way to burn off the fat from your abdominal area is through a combination of weight-training and aerobic exercise. This is a common mistake, and often times, a misconception among many women who don’t realize the importance of incorporating regular weight-training into their fitness program.

To achieve a killer six-pack, the truth is, that it’s virtually everything to do with low body fat. You can do sit-ups until the cows come home, but this will not reward you with the results you are looking for. Let me explain. In order to lose belly fat, you must exercise to burn the fat from all over the body since you can not spot reduce. Your body, when placed under a reduction of calories, is designed to lose weight from all areas of the body - not just the one area or two of your choice. It doesn’t work that way. Even if it’s apparent that you’re holding more body fat in your belly, hips, and thighs area, it still does not change this fact. And while exercising your abs will surely strengthen your abdominal muscles and improve the ability to better hold in your abs, it will not cause a reduction in belly fat in and of itself. Therefore, if you want to lose weight from any area of the body, you must exercise regularly to obtain a low body fat composition.

You will learn that it does not require an excessive amount of ab training to achieve your goals, in fact, it will only worsen your chance since over-training will do nothing but tear down your muscles. As I have mentioned in previous posts, muscle replaces the body fat that was once there. When reviewing Mike Geary’s strategic knowledge on how to get a six pack  - a Certified Nutrition Specialist and Certified Personal Trainer, specializing in body fat reduction strategies and who holds a Bachelors of Science degree - can clearly shed some light on the system he uses that does work for both men and women.

The Secrets To Losing Belly Fat

The secrets to really losing belly fat, doesn’t hold precedence to what you are doing inside a gym but rather in what you are doing inside the kitchen. Exercising is a key component but the culprit is in the kitchen. You see, we all have ab muscles we were born with. The problem is that they will never be seen until the layer of fat is stripped from them. By simply eating less, and choosing a healthier, higher quality of foods -  is where the magic lies.

Other important tips I have stated in the past, are in making sure you eat often - 4 to 6 times per day, with smaller meal portions. This is key to revving up your metabolism, and in reducing body fat. If you constantly keep your furnace burning, you will lose the belly fat whether you are 20 or 60 years old…guaranteed. 

         -written by Angela Doss

Abdominal Workout

As I have stated in the past, we discussed some of the facts and myths regarding our abdomens. Today we are going to look at an ab routine to get you started in the right direction, and one that I myself rely on quite heavily. These are very effective, and I urge you to master these core exercises. I recommend choosing a few of the exercises at a time, and mix them up and switch them around to keep your ab routine fresh and ever changing. But before we begin, I want to say, that you may perform these on a mat on the floor, with a medicine ball, on a stability ball, or on a decline bench. Whatever tools you have readily available will work just fine, although, I really love my medicine and stability balls. These are fabulous and can be purchased almost anywhere. Likewise, they are found in every gym should you have a gym membership. I like to keep a set at home, because a lot of times, I like to get my ab workout done and out of the way first thing in the morning. However, when I am at the gym, I will be sure to use them there along with an incline bench. So let’s get going!

Ball Crunches

Start- Take a seat on the stability ball. Slide your knees over your ankles, and separate your knees so that they are hip width apart. Lower your back onto the ball so that your back is properly supported by the ball. Place your hands behind your head, and pull in and flex your abs. 

Exercise- Pushing heels through the floor, rock back and forth with your hips whilst crunching your abs slightly toward your naval. Repeat the movement until you have completed all the repetitions for your set. I personally like to perform this exercise by taking it to failure.

Caution- There is little caution here since the stability ball serves well to support and cushion the back. Just keep your balance throughout the movement and remember to breathe. Exhale during the crunch and inhale returning from the crunch.

Tips- These will work both upper and lower abdomens since constant tension will remain on the muscles throughout this exercise. These may at first seem awkward, but with practice, you will soon connect the ab muscles with the movement as you get the hang of it. Just remember, that these are performed using a very small movement. These are one of my favorite ab exercises because they are so comfortable to perform and yet extremely effective in the process. I promise, that once you make the connection, you will feel these working!

180 Degree Ball Crunches

Start- Take a seat on the stability ball. Lower your back and entire body completely over the ball, with hands placed behind your head whilst keeping your neck relaxed.

Exercise- Begin to lift your body up toward your naval until almost sitting upright on the ball exhaling at the top of the movement, then lowering back down to start position and inhaling. Repeat the movement until you have completed all the repetitions for your set.

Caution- Pay attention in keeping your balance, using your feet to keep you steady.

Tips- With all ab exercises, it is imperative that during the exhale movement, to release and blow out all air from your lungs whilst flexing the ab muscles in tightly and then pausing to squeeze. You will get a much more effective ab workout when you do. This is key, and must always be remembered as this is what will give you your best results. The farther apart you place your feet the easier this exercise will become.

Straight Leg Lowering

Start- Lay down on a mat on your back with arms close to your sides or placed under your butt. Raise your legs straight out up in the air keeping your feet close together.

Exercise- To start, completely exhale releasing all air out from your lungs and begin to lower your legs taking care not to touch the floor. Pause at the bottom and raise back up to start position, inhaling on the way back up. Repeat the movement until you have completed all the repetitions for your set. 

Caution- If you feel any pressure on your lower back, place your hands under your lower back/upper butt area to release the pressure. This always works well for me. Be sure to never allow your feet to reach the floor.

Tips- Remember to pull in your belly towards your spine throughout the movement. These are wonderful for your lower ab muscles. To get better results, move quicker through the decline and slower through the incline raise; this puts more stress on the lower abs. 

Bicycles

Start- Lay down on a mat on your back with arms close to your sides or placed under your butt. Raise your legs bending at a 90 degrees. 

Exercise- Starting with one leg at a time, begin to emulate bicycling only you’ll tend to extend each leg out and back in alternately. This movement should be performed semi-slowly, but not so slow that you lose the momentum of cycling. Repeat the movement until you have completed all the repetitions for your set. I like to work these to failure.

Caution- Be mindful not to lock out your knees when extending your legs out. Always be kind to your joints! If you feel any pressure on your lower back, you can relieve this by placing your hands under your lower back for support.

Tips- Remember to breathe throughout the movement taking care never to hold your breath. Keep your belly button pulled toward your spine. Focus on the lower abs because this one will do the trick!

Ball Oblique Crunches

Start- Take a seat on the stability ball. Lower your back onto the ball so that it supports your body perfectly. Keep your feet hip wide apart placing your hands behind your head as illustrated.

Exercise- Begin by releasing and blowing out all air from your lungs and begin to lift your body up towards your naval, but this time, lifting up and to the right. Pause on the crunch at the top, and slowly lower yourself back to start position. Repeat the movement until you have completed all the repetitions for your right side. You will then proceed to do the same lifting up and to your left until you have completed all the repetitions for your set.

Caution- Take care to keep your balance and stay controlled throughout the movement.

Tips- Remember to exhale on the way  into the crunch, and exhale on the way back out from the crunch. Really feel the side oblique muscles working hard. This is a very important movement to master.

Reverse Crunch

Start- Lay down on a mat on your back with arms kept close to your sides. Raise your legs and bend to a 90 degree angle keeping legs and feet together throughout the movement. Keep your lower back pushed into the ground.

Exercise- Lift your bottom off the floor and up, curling your knees into your chest and exhale making sure all your air has been blown out from your lungs. Slowly returning to start position. Repeat the movement until you have completed all the repetitions for your set.

Caution- If you feel tension on your lower back, you may place your hands at the small of your back. Stay aligned with your body as a curl up towards your chest.

Tips- This is a lower ab movement and you must take care not to use your arms to make this lower crunch. Make sure you allow your abs to perform the exercise. Exhale on the way up, inhale on the way down.

         -written by Angela Doss

We all strive for flatter and more defined abdomens. We know how hard we work for them, but do we really know how to get them? Let’s start by looking at the most common myths and facts about abs so that we can learn the truth about abs . Then we can understand how better to achieve them.

The Most Common Myths And Facts About Abs Dispelled

Myth: Fat always deposits in the abs.

Fact: The fat in your body will deposit where it is genetically programmed to.

Some people are apple shaped: they put on flab around the waist, chest and back first. Others are pear shaped: they put on flab first on the hips and thighs. Upper body fat is unhealthier as people with upper body fat have more chances of heart disease than people with lower body fat.

Myth: Spot reducing abs is easy.

Fact: You cannot spot reduce those abs!

Myth: Abdominal exercises will remove fat in my midsection.

Fact: You need to remove excess fat around your stomach in order to see your abs. The only way you are going to do this is with a low-calorie diet and a weight-resistance program while adding cardio exercise. Ab exercises will develop muscles, but they’ll still be hiding under a layer of fat until you lose the body fat.

Myth: You have to train your abs everyday.

Fact: The rules of weight training state that you should give your muscles at least a day of rest to recover, and this applies to your abs as well. Instead of working them everyday, do them every other day or even just three times per week. They need a break just like the rest of your body parts. The trick is to train them hard though.

Myth: Doing ab exercises gets rid of abdominal fat.

Fact: There is no such thing as spot reduction. People assume that if you have fat deposits on your abdomens, exercising the muscles underlying the fat will make it go away. But they assume wrong. You can’t get rid of the fat over a muscle by repeatedly exercising that body part. The only way to burn fat from your tummy is through prolonged exercise and a healthy, low calorie diet.

Myth: High repetitions are required to make gains.

Fact: As stated earlier, abs are just like every other muscle in your body. That means, you should train your abs the same way as the rest of your muscle groups. To make strength gains with your abs, you have to overload your muscles.

Myth: If you have a bad back, training the abs will worsen it.

Fact: Training your abs will strengthen your back. The opposing muscles in your body always assist each other. So if you have weak ab muscles, the load of the work fails on the back. So strengthen the abs, and your back will become stronger as well.

Myth: Men and women should train their abs differently.

Fact: Men and women all have the same muscles and should always be trained the same way. If a woman wants a firm midsection, then she’s going to have to eat correctly, follow a cardio program and train her abs the same way a man would.

Myth: If I stop training my abs they will turn to fat.

Fact: Muscles don’t turn to fat. If you stay active and watch what you eat you’ll keep your abs even if you stop training. But if you stop exercising and start eating junk food, your abs will disappear again under a layer of abdominal fat.

So don’t waste any more time by falling victim to common ab myths. Train intelligently in accordance with scientifically based training techniques and get the super abs you’ve always wanted! As we continue to move along, we will discuss some of the best ab exercises to help achieve our fitness goals.

        -written by Angela Doss

reference:
Mike Geary, the truth about abs