Thursday, February 3, 2011

How to Flatten Your Stomach And Define Your Abs

Even those people who are not overweight by much are now aiming to streamline their physique by finally flattening that stomach and creating abs. The ideal body of today for men and women alike seems to be that with a flat stomach and well defined abs. These cannot be achieved through a shortcut or magic pill. Sheer determination and commitment to the program are required for consistency and long term maintenance. You should follow a formula of losing fat and building muscles with the right workouts and diet. Achieving that flat stomach and developing the abs should be the goal toward which your workouts are structured.

You should not leave out cardio workouts if you want to flatten your stomach. The only way you can burn off the fat that causes that bulge would be through any kind of effective cardio training. Three times a week, elevate your heart rate to its maximum level and maintain this for 30 minutes to an hour. Various types of cardio workouts such as speed walking, jogging, cycling, swimming or aerobics can be done alternately. Even more fat burning results from burning fat while doing the cardio workout and raising your metabolism for the rest of the day. By doing your cardio session early in the morning you get more active hours left in the day for your body to maximize your raised metabolism. Whittling down your body fat to ten percent will enable you to create well defined abs.

Your specific stomach muscle building workouts should be done in between cardio days. Pilates exercises are designed to strengthen and tighten the core of the body which is centered in the stomach. The proper techniques for abdominal crunches and reverse crunches should also be learned. Doing these the right way consistently will build the six pack you want.

All these should, of course, be supported by the proper diet. Eliminate all simple carbohydrates such as sugar and starch as well as all unhealthy fats. Dairy products should be eliminated to avoid gas and bloat. Replace these with complete proteins, complex carbohydrates with high fiber content and healthy unsaturated fats. This means lean meat, chicken, fish, whole grains, vegetables and fruits. These should be eaten in six small meals distributed evenly throughout the day, stopping three hours before bedtime. This eating pattern keeps your metabolism at a steady high burn all day and does not leave any excess calories in your stomach at night.

By doing the right cardio and stomach tightening workouts and eating properly, you can flatten that stomach in no time and begin to show off your well earned well defined abs.

Over at the FitnessArmory.com, you can let our expert advice on fitness and equipment reviews help you create the perfect home gym but without all the huge costs. We have the exclusive reviews on all your favorite brands and models to help you get in shape, get healthy and look great. Recent product reviews include: Stamina CPS 9190 Indoor Cycle, Stamina Total Body Recumbent Bike, Teeter Hang Ups P3 Back Stretcher, Stamina InMotion II Manual Treadmill. We invite you to stop by or drop us a line if you have any questions or need help with your fitness equipment selections.

Stamina CPS 9190 Indoor Cycle