| ABS! 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 abs". 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 abs. 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 abs.
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 junk food 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 achieve 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 abs 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'tpig 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 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 flavors
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.
Click here for more info on the benefits of protein......
http://www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com/articles/Can_Protein_Increase_You
r_Muscle_Tone.htm
and why you need it to help you reach your training goals.
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 achieve. Use goal clothing or a tape measure to
monitor your changingwaistline. Re-measure every 4 weeks. Don't
forget about the good ol fat callipers too. If you are keen to
measure your bodyfat click here for a very affordable fat calliper
kit with full instructions.
http://www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com/thefitnessshop/virtual_fitness_tr
ainer_sports_shop.htm
or purchase them at your local pharmacy or chemist.
Happy training folks,
Yours in fun, health and fitness
Mandy Gibbons
Personal Fitness Trainer
http://www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com
Note: 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 and Virtual Fitness Trainer
disclaims any liability or loss in connection with the above programs
or advice given in this article.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
This article was written by:
Mandy Gibbons, Personal Fitness Trainer / Consultant
Virtual Fitness Trainer: Online Health and Fitness Club
"Taking Health and Fitness into the Future!"
http://www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com
© Mandy Gibbons, Virtual Fitness Trainer
mandy@v...
http://www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com, 1999 - 2001
|
|
