Whether it’s summer and you want to look great in your t-shirt or you want to impress a potential date, everyone want’s a flat belly and look great. So how do we get in shape to lose belly fat and slim our waistlines? While there is no simple answer we can give you a few tips on how to exercise smartly to get the most out of your workouts and start looking great in those tight body hugging clothes. This all assumes that you have a proper diet that is friendly to losing fat. Remember that if you eat an unhealthy diet and eat more calories than you need, all the exercise you do won’t be as effective. The most effective exercise to lose belly fat is one that works the entire body to build muscle and burn fat in general. Stomach fat is extremely stubborn so you won’t start to see a flattened tummy until you start to shed fat from your entire body. When you get through this routine you’ll start to fell better and look great too.
The first step in any plan to get a flat stomach is to do strength training to build more muscle. Studies have shown that fat attracts fat. The fatter you are, the fatter you will likely become, so it is important to build more more muscle to battle off the and burn the fat. Muscle and protein require more calories to maintain and will help you burn fat off more easily. Also by doing strength training you are stimulating your body to produce growth hormones and getting your metabolism to burn faster. If you can afford it consider joining a gym or health club. Though it is not necessary there are many advantages to exercising in a gym, you can save time, have access to great equipment and do a greater variety of exercises (cardio, weights, circuit training, spin classes) so that you will never get bored.
Also a great way to supplement your strength training is to do intense interval training. You can do strength training 3 days a week, on on off days, while you are resting from weight and strength training do and intense cardio interval session. Studies have show that interval training is an best way to lose belly fat. The goal of interval training is to have short burst of intensity in your exercises. IF there were a scale of 1 -10, with 1 being little or now effort, and 10 being your maximum effort, you want to do bursts of 10 in your cardio for as long as you can. The intervals can be as short as 15 seconds or as long as 5 minutes, the key is to make sure you exert maximum effort during these intervals. best of all interval training works naturally with regular cardio exercise we are simply adjusting the intensity and timing of the work out. Intervals can be adapted to common routines such as.
Running,
treadmill
cycling
swimming
biking
hiking / stair climbing
So lets say you pick a work out routine and have stuck to it religiously and are beginning to see some good results. You are slimmer and your muscles are more defined. But when you look in the mirror and look at your stomach, though it is flatter you cannot see the definition around your stomach muscles or “six pack.” Here are some exercises you can do to isolate the stomach muscles and bring more definition to your belly.
Core Abs
Sit Ups – sit ups get a bad rap. When done properly they are safe and effective exercise to tone and strengthen abdominal muscles. To do sit ups properly, lie down with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. You can keep your hands on the the side, crossed on your chest or have your hands touching you ears. Breath in, then keeping your fee flat on the floor, use your abdominal muscles to pull your head and chest up, keeping your eyes on your knees. As you are pulling yourself you breath out. Lift your head first, then your shoulders and the rest of your chest. when you peak sit up position hold a second then descend the same way slowly. try to work up to 1 set of 25 reps.
Crunches – lie down on the ground, with your knees bent. Your feet can be flat on the floor or suspended in the air to get extra motion. Your arms can be crossed across your chest or you can have your hands behind your head. If you choose the latter position make sure to rest your neck on your hands and use your hands as support so as to not put strain on your neck and back. Once you are in the ready position, using only your ab muscles, curl your back and pull your head up towards your knee. when you reach peak position, hold for a second then go back down the same way slowly. Try for sets of 25 reps to see the best results.
Lower Abs -
2. vertical leg crunch – Lie down flat on ground with your arms to the side or your hands behind your back. raise your legs until they are perpendicular to the floor at 90 degrees. Lift your hips until your buttocks is no longer on the floor. crunch your head towards your knees, when you reach peak position hold for 1 second. Lower your head the slowly and repeat. Try for sets of 25 reps.
Upper Abs
upper abs
Lie down on the floor with your hands behind your head. raise your legs to a 30 – 45 degree angle. While pulling your left leg in, simultaneously turn your body to the right. Then switch sides and pull your right leg in, while turning your body left. Continue alternating sides in this bicycling motion for 15 reps.
Obliques (side of abs)
4. broom twists – sit down on the floor with your legs spread at a 45 degree angle. get a broom and straddle it on the the back of your head across your shoulders. rest hold the ends of the stick with your handles. Slowly twist your body to the right. When you reach the peak position, hold for one second, then reverse and twist int he opposite direction. to increase difficult, use a barbell instead of a broomstick to add resistance.sing deliberately slow movements to prevent momentum from causing you to cheat., concentrate on twisting at the waist and not the hips or legs. This is a great exercise to work those sides, for increased difficulty use a barbell with light to medium weights