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ABDOMINALS
- The Truth
on How to Achieve a Toned Tummy and Slim Waistline
It
often seems like the hardest thing in the world to do:
"Reducing your waistline and toning your abdominals".
People all over the world spend thousands of dollars per
day attempting to accomplish the "SIX PACK". I
have regular requests asking for advice and quick fixes to
remedy the storing of body fat around the waistline and
how to create a firm toned midsection.
The
Truth about achieving a toned tummy and being able to
actually see that "muscle tone" is to get rid of
the layer of body fat covering your abdominals. That's
right! It doesn't matter how many crunches you do, or what
new machine you use from the continuous advertisements
that hound us day in and day out. If you don't reduce your
body fat you will never see those strong toned abdominals.
Spot
Reduction - A Fallacy!
You
cannot spot reduce. Although you can change areas of your
body with resistance exercise eg. weight training
techniques like toning, body shaping and body building
etc. You cannot just train or exercise one body part
alone, such as your abs, and expect to see a whole new
look. Achieving a six pack or muscle tone in your
abdominal area is a lot more involved and I intend to show
you how to go about reaching your new slim and toned
waistline by following a few simple steps and hints..
A
familiar tune.......
As
I mentioned above I frequently receive emails of
desperation with requests such as "I am happy with
the rest of my body, but my wide and fatty waistline ruins
my body shape. Can you give me one exercise that will fix
this". Or "I have an occasion coming up and I
want to reduce my waistline, can you recommend a
supplement and some special crunches that will make me
lose 10 kilos around my waist within the next 6
weeks?" And "I perform 200 crunches per day and
I still don't see any difference in my waistline, what am
I doing wrong?"
One
More Thing Before We get Started - Don't Rely On Gimmicks!
One
thing I am very concerned about is the fact that most of
us want to believe that some miraculous piece of
equipment, or pills, will give us that toned tummy that
the sexy girls and guys have in the ads for these types of
products. Believe me, before I started in the fitness
industry years ago I also thought if I spent hundreds of
dollars it would work for me too. I was so upset when I
found out that I actually had to work at it and there was
no such miracle cure or quick fix solution.
The
Difference Between Firming Up Your Abs and Reducing Your
Body Fat Around Your Waistline
Now
that you know that the only way to trim down your
waistline is to reduce the amount of body fat around that
particular area you are probably thinking "where do I
go from here?". First you need to realise that a slim
waist doesn't necessarily mean that you have a toned
midsection. As you know to firm up your abdominal area you
need to perform crunches or some kind of resistance
program. Many men and women do have slimmer waists
or flat stomachs, but they can still lack tone and
firmness. This where the "resistance training"
comes in.
"Why
does my Waistline Grow Instead of Shrink when I Perform
Crunches?"
One
of the most common reasons that I have found for this
occurring is a diet full of fat, calories: from sugar
foods and junkfood and too many starchy carbs towards the
end of the day. Most people think that if they perform a
few crunches every day their waistline will magically turn
into a six pack! WRONG! How could you possibly expect to
acheive a six pack when you are consuming foods that are
increasing the actual layer of bodyfat that prevents the
ab muscles from being seen in the first place? I know this
sounds harsh but if you want to have a waistline or abs
that look like you've put the effort in to produce them
then that's exactly what YOU are going to have to do. If
you are eating all of the wrong foods while increasing the
muscle growth in your ab region you are actually
"bulking up" this area. Why? Because you will
have an increase in both muscle and bodyfat - which will
therefore increase your measurements.
"So
how can I Firm Up my Abs and Reduce My Waistline
too?"
If
you read through the steps below you will grasp a better
understanding of how to attain the above goals. In no time
you can get started on improving your training program to
help you achieve the waistline you've always dreamed of
having.
Steps
/ Hints to Help Set You on the Right Track to Getting
Started on Your New Ab Program
When
you read through the following steps and hints you will
most probably find that there are quite a few of them that
you aren't currently following or didn't know about. For
each step I have included a list of things you need to
remember when training your abdominals. I have tried to
keep it brief but informative. You may like to use the
following steps / hints like a checklist so you can
remember each point when starting your NEW ABS progam.
1
Resistance Training Program
*Train your lower abdominals first
*Breath out as you crunch up.
*If you have your hands behind your neck, make sure you
keep your elbows back, and crunch up using your shoulders.
(This will help prevent neck soreness)
*Keep your lower back pushed into the floor or bench.
Unless you are advanced, and have sufficient abdominal and
lower back strength, do not perform exercises that
encourage you to arch your back up. If you find in general
that your back arches keep your knees bent and closer to
your body so that your lower back if pushing into the
floor or bench.
*Don't overtrain your abs. Three quality training sessions
per week is ample. Remember muscle needs recovery time to
grow. It's muscle growth that increases your muscle tone
in your midsection. Overtraining will actually deplete the
muscle instead of increasing it.
*Don't go overboard with perfroming loads of repetitions.
Rather than trying to achieve 5 x 100 crunches per
exercise, hold for a count of 2-5, each rep you perform
using 4-5 x 12 burning reps. This will get you better
results. Your goal is to damage the muscle to promote
muscle growth for increased muscle tone.
*Don' t just train your abs. You need to be performing a
full-body program rather than just concentrating on your
abdominal region. Focus on training each body part so that
you can a achieve a "toned and firm look" all
over.
2
Low-Fat Eating Program
*Reduce
your fat content in your meals.
*Do not cook with oil, use a low fat cooking spray
instead.
*Reduce, and I mean really cut back, on your fried
foods
*Reduce your margarine and butter usage to only a small
amount or none at all
*Increase lean protein (to assist with muscle growth)
*Eat fresh salads and veggies
*Towards the end of the day reduce your intake of carbs
like potato, rice, pasta, cereals and bread. Still include
them in your meals but don't pig out on them. Fill up on
green veggies instead.
*Don't use fatty gravies on your meals or meat, use very
low oil or no oil gravies instead
*Don't use oily salad dressings, go for low oil or no oil
with them too.
*Check the fat content on the labels of tins and cans
*Cut all the fat off your meat and grill it.
*Eat six meals smaller regular meals per day rather than
having one or two large meals per day.
*Always have breakfast!
*Use egg whites rather than eggs with yolks. You can
actually purchase egg whites in cartons, they can normally
be found in the freezer section of your supermarket.
*Have one day off your eating program per week
*If you have trouble keeping up with your protein intake
use low-fat, low carbohydrate, high protein drinks. There
are some great flavours ranging from vanilla, chocolate,
banana, strawberry etc. Purchase a shake that is easy to
mix and has quality protein content. You can use these as
a morning or afternoon snack.
To
read more about the benefits of protein and why you need
it to help you reach your training goals click
here.
3
Fat Burning Program
To
reduce your ab region, and the rest of your body, of that
extra body fat, you will need to increase your fat burning
exercise.
*Vary
your fat-burning times for each session
*Vary the intensity
*Increase the amount of sessions you perform each week -
don't over do it though. Over fatburning eg. fatburning
twice per day, 7 days per week is classified as over
training and will deplete your muscle. For a faster
metabolism 3 times per week is suitable. For a slow
metbolism 5-6 times per week will give a good kick start
to losing body fat. You can then decrease this as your
metabolism increases.
*Swap from treadmill to bike to treadmill etc so your
body, and you, don't get bored with your training program.
If you have access to several different cardio machines
you can alternate between them.
*Fat Burn before breakfast to encourage your body to burn
away at your stored body fats.
*Fat Burn on an empty stomach. Inbetween meals or first
thing in the morning.
*Don't fat burn for any longer than 40 mins each session
maximum!
ABS Exercises
Floor
Crunches - (you can also use your ab roller/ frame for
this exercise)
Lie flat on your back on the floor, legs bent, feet flat,
pushing your lower back into the floor. Clasp your hands
behind your neck, keeping your elbows back, in line with
your head. Crunch up slightly, raising your head and
shoulders, breathing out as you crunch. As you crunch up
push your lower back into the floor and squeeze your tummy
as tight as possible. Lower your head and shoulders back
down to the floor and repeat. You should feel a burning
sensation in your upper tummy area and midsection.
Lower Ab Crunches - Lie flat on your back on the
floor, legs raised, knees bent and lower legs folded. Push
your lower back into the floor. Place your hands by your
sides, palms facing the floor. Raise your backside and
hips slightly, breathing out at the same time. As you
crunch up push your lower back into the floor and squeeze
the lower section of your tummy (pelvis region) as tight
as possible. Lower your hips and backside back down to the
floor and repeat. You should feel a burning sensation in
your lower tummy area and upper pelvis.
Side
Crunches (you can also use your ab roller for this
exercise)
Lie flat on your back on the floor, have your knees bent
and legs twisted to one side. Your lower body should be
twisted to the side but your upper body should remain
straight and flat on the floor. Have your hands by the
sides of your head and your elbows back. Crunch up
slightly pushing your lower back into the floor, raising
your head and shoulders, squeezing the side of your waist.
Lower your head and shoulders back down to the floor.
Repeat the exercise until you have finished your reps.
Then change to the other side.
Setting
Yourself Some Goals
Achieving
a toned, slimmer midsection is possible if you are
prepared to make the above changes to your lifestyle. You
will be surprised at the results you receive if you
dedicate yourself for a solid 12 - 16 weeks. The hardest
part is getting started, but once you are on your way you
won't regret it. Set yourself monthly realistic goals that
are possible to acheive. Use goal clothing or a tape
measure to monitor your changing waistline. Re-measure
every 4 weeks. Don't forget about the good ol fat
callipers too.
Happy
training folks,
Yours
in fun, health and fitness
Mandy
Gibbons
Personal Fitness Trainer
For more info on Personally Designed Programs click here http://www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com
Persons
who are of good health, suspect of their health or are
aware of any conditions, physical deficiencies or diseases
should always consult a physician before undertaking any
eating or exercise program. Mandy Gibbons, Virtual Fitness
Trainer, www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com.au and
www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com disclaims any liability or
loss in connection with the above program or advice given
in this article.
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