If you turn on the television, you may see tons of infomercials about the latest machine or diet that is supposed to melt away unwanted belly fat and keep it off. All you have to do is use the machine and in a few weeks you’ll have a flat stomach. Or, you are told to perform an endless amount of crunches or spend hours on the treadmill to burn belly fat. Unfortunately, there is no quick and easy way to lose belly fat.
First of all, a flat stomach is made in the kitchen. You are what you eat and if you eat junk, it will show up on you in unwanted areas such as your belly. Your workout regimen is the other part of the equation, and the most important factor of the regime is intensity. Intensity is inversely related to waist-to-hip ratios. Moreover, you burn more total calories per minute during high-intensity intermittent exercise. Below are some tips on how to get the flat stomach that you desire.
- Use exercises that work your abdominals all the time. Free weight exercises activate the core more effectively. Squats, lunges, step-ups, push-up variations, plank variations, deadbug variations, and inverted rows are among the best exercises that activate your core musculature throughout the entire movement. This way, you are working your body as a unit, which is how you use it every day. Moreover, you are utilizing more muscle groups when performing these exercises which means that you receive a greater caloric expenditure. Therefore, your body responds better to these types of exercises.
- Incorporate metabolic circuit training into your workouts. Metabolic circuits are total body workouts that involve high-intensity work periods with short rest periods in a circuit format. These types of workouts deplete carbohydrate stores so that your body is forced to burn fat during recovery and hours after. By performing these workouts, you get the strength training benefits of weight training and the cardiovascular benefits of cardio exercise, which adds to caloric expenditure.
- Restrict sugar, starch, trans fat, and partially hydrogenated fat intake. These ingredients set the stage for increased belly fat, not to mention a long list of diseases. Consuming too much of these ingredients creates unwanted inflammation in your body and makes you crave more unhealthy foods. These ingredients are found in foods such as baked goods, sports drinks, energy drinks, carbonated beverages, fruit juices, desserts, cereals, and some pre-packaged meats. Unhealthy ingredients, too many calories, and not enough exercise are a prescription for abdominal fat gain.
- Get enough sleep. You should be getting between 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Not enough rest negatively affects your appetite control system, making you crave more sugars and starches. Moreover, cortisol increases, which is notorious for mobilizing fat to the abdominal area.
- Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. Doing so prevents bloating, keeps you from consuming too many calories, and boosts your metabolism.
Forget all of the old-school advice on how to get a flat stomach. Intense, total body workouts, good nutrition, and proper rest should be a part of your lifestyle in your want to drop fat. Flat stomachs are made in the kitchen and from effective exercise programs. So if you want a flat stomach, clean up your nutrition, use total body exercises, and crank up the intensity!
