How to Get a Flat Stomach - 5 Easy Tips.
Everybody wants a flat stomach. For a lot of people it is the holy grail of health and fitness, and the envy of others. Strange then that such mystery surrounds how to get one! If you have been searching for information on how it is done you've probably heard all kinds of weird and wonderful advice and techniques, or even that eating a few berries would do it...
Well let me reveal the mystery once and for all with these 5 tips for getting a flat stomach:
1. Exercise at least 3 but preferably 4 times a week
Yes, sorry guys, there is some work involved. Include resistance training (e.g. weights) to build muscle and some abs exercises. The reason you want to spend time building muscle as well as doing cardio and abs exercises is your metabolism stays higher for a lot longer after you have finished training if you do muscle building exercises.
2. Do not spend hour upon hour doing abs exercises
This is a total waste of time. You should do some good abs exercises to build strong core muscles but keep it to 10 minutes a day maximum. There is no point building huge abs if they are covered in a layer of fat.
3. Focus on bodyfat % not body weight
You cannot spot reduce fat. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you cannot get rid of the fat on your belly whilst the rest of your body remains the same. You have to reduce the fat levels for the whole of your body to get good definition. To expose abs you really need to be under 10% body fat for men, and 15% for women.
4. Don't starve yourself
If you try and starve yourself to lose weight you will also lose a lot of muscle. This is counter-productive as muscle helps you to burn calories even when they are not being exercised. This will also cause your body to think that it is not going to receive any food for a while and as a precaution will start storing fat. It isn't how much you are eating, it is what you are eating.
5. Have patience
Remember how long it took you to put the weight on? So why expect that it won't take as long to lose it? Fortunately nature isn't that cruel to us but you should aim for a steady and consistent weight loss (or body fat % reduction) of around 1kg per week. Also the last few % of body fat is often the hardest to lose so be patient.
There are other ways and techniques to help with the above tips but the often heard phrase "great abs are created in the kitchen not the gym" is essentially true. No amount of exercise is going to get you that defined flat stomach if your diet isn't right.
Well let me reveal the mystery once and for all with these 5 tips for getting a flat stomach:
1. Exercise at least 3 but preferably 4 times a week
Yes, sorry guys, there is some work involved. Include resistance training (e.g. weights) to build muscle and some abs exercises. The reason you want to spend time building muscle as well as doing cardio and abs exercises is your metabolism stays higher for a lot longer after you have finished training if you do muscle building exercises.
2. Do not spend hour upon hour doing abs exercises
This is a total waste of time. You should do some good abs exercises to build strong core muscles but keep it to 10 minutes a day maximum. There is no point building huge abs if they are covered in a layer of fat.
3. Focus on bodyfat % not body weight
You cannot spot reduce fat. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you cannot get rid of the fat on your belly whilst the rest of your body remains the same. You have to reduce the fat levels for the whole of your body to get good definition. To expose abs you really need to be under 10% body fat for men, and 15% for women.
4. Don't starve yourself
If you try and starve yourself to lose weight you will also lose a lot of muscle. This is counter-productive as muscle helps you to burn calories even when they are not being exercised. This will also cause your body to think that it is not going to receive any food for a while and as a precaution will start storing fat. It isn't how much you are eating, it is what you are eating.
5. Have patience
Remember how long it took you to put the weight on? So why expect that it won't take as long to lose it? Fortunately nature isn't that cruel to us but you should aim for a steady and consistent weight loss (or body fat % reduction) of around 1kg per week. Also the last few % of body fat is often the hardest to lose so be patient.
There are other ways and techniques to help with the above tips but the often heard phrase "great abs are created in the kitchen not the gym" is essentially true. No amount of exercise is going to get you that defined flat stomach if your diet isn't right.
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