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..
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.
*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.
*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.
Click here to
take a closer look at protein powders or here to read more about the
benefits of protein and why you need it to help you reach your training
goals.
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
*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!
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. If you are keen to measure your bodyfat click here for a very
affordable fat calliper kit with full instructions. or purchase them at
your local pharmacy or chemist.
Yours in fun,
health and fitness
Mandy Gibbons
Personal Fitness Trainer
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.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
This article
was written by:
© Mandy Gibbons
2001
Personal
Fitness Trainer & Consultant
VIRTUAL FITNESS
TRAINER
"Make your
Health and Fitness Program a Success today!"
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