Four Secrets to a Flat Stomach

If your goal is to thin your waistline and have a nice flat stomach, the first thing you need to do is decrease / eliminate the layers of fat that are on top of your abs. The most effective way of flattening your stomach is a combination of strength training (with a extra focus on mid-section), cardiovascular exercise (short, hard workouts), and stable blood sugar (keeps you from adding additional fat and makes it easier for the body to use body fat for fuel)

1. You must do some form of progressive strength trainingThe primary function of the ab muscle is to flex your torso forward. However, there are also muscles that flex your torso to the side and muscles that rotate your torso. Often times you see people on their ab roller every day doing hundreds of crunches or sit-ups.If you want to effectively strengthen your stomach you need to incorporate the following types of exercises:1-2 forward flexion exercises (crunch, sit-up, etc.)

1-2 side flexion exercises (side bends, side crunches, etc.)1-2 rotational exercises (trunk rotations, standing twists, etc.)The abs, are muscles just like any other and should be worked at most 3 times per week. You also want to make sure you are training them progressively, working them harder each time.

2. Use short, hard cardio workouts to increase metabolismCardio workouts are important because they CAN, if done correctly, increase your metabolism for 4-24 hours or more! This means you are less likely to store any excess calories as body fat because they are more likely to be used by your elevated metabolism. Plus, you are more likely to burn off some excess body fat.Below is a sample interval workout that can be done with just about any activity (walking, bicycling, swimming, stair climbing, etc.).Warm up at easy pace 2-5 minutes then:

• perform 30 seconds of hard work (almost as hard as possible)
• perform 1 minute of moderate work (recovery time-catch breath)
• repeat this process 6-10 times à Cool down at an easy pace for 2-5 minutes

3. Stable blood sugar is the keyAnd most importantly, you must stabilize your blood sugar! This is by far the most important factor when it comes to burning away that excess body fat and keeping it off! To effectively stabilize your blood sugar you must feed your body frequently; like every 2-3 hours. The key is to give your body only what it needs at that time. Your body burns calories 24 hours a day, so, why would you only feed it once or twice a day? Give your body the fuel it needs: vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries, whole grains, and lean proteins (chicken, fish, lean beef, eggs, etc.).

Many people are too hung up on how much fat is in food, or how healthy of a choice it is. Calories are calories and it doesn't matter where they come from. If there's extra. where's it going? Yup, you guessed it. body fat!

This is not to say that what you eat is not important because it is, it just doesn't have that much of an affect when it comes to fat loss. Try to make healthy choices whenever possible, but don't feel like if you eat a cheeseburger it is guaranteed to be stored as fat.

4. Get the help of a professional Unfortunately, most people don't know enough about the human body, nutrition, or effective exercise to meet their health and fitness goals. Ask yourself this one question, "Am I happy with my current progress or condition?" If you're not, you should consider getting the help of a qualified personal fitness professional. Don't depend on the information you get from magazines or from your local gym/ health club. A qualified fitness professional can help you achieve your health and fitness goals, and in less time than you would imagine.

If you are serious about your health and fitness goals, and you are ready for that flat stomach, I recommend you start implementing the 4 strategies listed in this article. These 4 strategies can help you take control of your metabolism and burn off that excess body fat and having you looking and feeling great!

Jesse Cannone is a certified personal fitness trainer, post-rehab specialist, nutritionist, and a national fitness presenter.

How to Exercise and Tone Your Lower Stomach

Many people complain about their flabby stomach when the stomach may not really the problem. They may actually be storing more fat in their lower abdominal region than the tummy.

Remember, your stomach starts right below your breastbone and down to your navel area. Your lower abdominals start near the navel area and go down to the pelvic region.

Examine your body in the mirror. Look at where the fat is stored. You may notice that your actual stomach is pretty flat, but the area around your belly button still protrudes and is the real problem.

If this is case, your problem is your lower abdominal region more so than your stomach.
Fat is stored here for a number of reasons. For some, it's genetic and that just happens to be where the body stores its fat. Unfortunately we can't tell our fat where to go so there is nothing you can do about this.

For others it may be indigestion. If your food is not digesting properly, it can cause a bulge in your lower abdominal area. IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) is another common cause for this problem).

Be sure to seek help from your physician if you think your problem may be related to something other than a bad diet and lack of exercise.

Change Your Diet First

Before you begin exercising your lower stomach, remember that your diet has to change in order to see any results.

I feel like a broken record but I must repeat this in case you haven't read other pages on this site...

You cannot spot tone your stomach. You have to lower your entire body's total fat percentage in order slim down your tummy.

If you remember nothing else from this website, please remember that statement.
In addition to your stomach exercises you must evaluate and be prepared to make changes in your diet.

See the Fat Burning Tips and Eating Habits pages for more details on this.

Now, let's get down to exercising the lower stomach area. Double Straight Legged Stretch
I went over this exercise on the Pilates page.

It is very, very good for toning up the lower abdominal area. In fact, after about 5 repetitions you can really feel that area working.

To perform this exercise:

1. Lie on your back with your legs straight.

2. Slowly raise your head and neck off the mat as if you're starting a basic crunch. Place your hands behind your head.

3. Bend both legs in and raise them off the floor then straighten and point them in the air at 11 o'clock. Keep your head and neck off the floor.

4. Slowly move both legs down (keeping them together and as straight as you can) until they are about a foot from the floor.

5. Now raise them back up and begin again.

6. Repeat this 10 times.

You should really feel your lower abdominal muscles working after only a few repetitions. As you get comfortable with them, push yourself to do more and more.

Chair Leg Lifts

You can perform this exercise in almost any kind of office or desk chair.
Sit upright with your back flat against the back of your chair.

Place your hands on the desk in front of you or on the seat of the chair by your legs.

Slowly lift your knees up toward your chest and hold for 5 seconds.

Then slowly lower them back down, resting your feet on the floor.

Breath out when you lift your legs up and inhale when you lower them to the floor.

In the beginning, you may find that you're only able to do a few of these. That's okay. As your abdominals get stronger, you'll be able to do more. Hang in there.

Pelvic Thrusts

Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and arms straight beside you.
Slowly lift and tilt your pelvis upward as you exhale. As you tilt your pelvis, be sure you keep your lower back on the floor so you get the most out of the movement.

Hold the movement for about 5 seconds and inhale as your relax your buttocks back down on the floor.

Do about 10 to 15 reps and take a 90 second break between sets. Perform a total of 4 sets.

Exercising Your Love Handles

Love handles. Ah yes....the affectionate term given to that flabby area on the sides of your abdomen that you can't seem to get rid of.

The anatomic term for them is "obliques" and unfortunately this area of the body is often neglected when it comes to exercising the stomach and ab areas.

Again, I cannot stress enough that you have to start with long-duration aerobic exercise if you want to trim any part of your stomach.

Spot toning will prove ineffective because you need to raise your metabolism enough to burn that extra love handle fat. Remember, it's all about total body fitness and losing weight all over.
If you've been reading this site, you're probably tired of me mentioning that, but that is the #1 misconception about stomach toning. You have to get your entire body into shape before you start seeing results.

Start a cardio exercise program at your home. Either buy aerobics DVDs or subscribe to a cool site like WorkoutPass.com.

This has got to be one of the coolest fitness sites I've ever seen. You'll gain access to hundreds of different exercise programs from one site, and you never have to leave your home. There are tons of different cardio exercise routines to help you burn fat and reduce those stubborn love handles.

While doing basic crunches will help eliminate some of the fat around the obliques, here are some other exercises that focus more on the love handle area.

Leg Flutters

A lot of people don't realize that in order to tone your middle and love handle area you also need to strengthen your back. This creates a balance in your torso and reduces the fat on your back.

1. Lie on your stomach and lift your head up slightly

2. You can keep your arms straight out at your sides or bend them with your elbows resting beside you.

3. Lift your feet and knees off the floor and flutter your legs rapidly back and forth. Do this for 20 seconds. Take a 20 second break and then repeat again.

Twist Crunches

This exercise will work your internal and external obliques as well as the rectus abdominis. These are the two muscle groups that live around your waist. Fat is generally stored on top of these muscles, thus creating the love handle effect.

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent.

2. Carefully lift your head up and place your hands behind your head without locking your fingers together.

3. Twist to the right bringing your left elbow to your right knee. Extend your left leg out.

4. Now twist back to the left bringing your right elbow to your left knee. Extend your right leg out.

5. Repeat 25 times.

Standing Trunk Twists

This is a good aerobic-type exercise that will help get your heart rate up as well as burn some calories in your middle.

1. Stand with your feet about a foot apart and knees relaxed.

2. Twist your torso to the left while keeping your hips and legs as stable as possible. As you twist to the left, cross your right arm in front of your body in a punching motion.

3. Twist back to the right and cross your left arm over your body in a punching motion.

4. Do 100 reps.

Ten Exercises For Developing Your Abs

The more ab exercises you have in your repertoire, the better you’ll be at using your instincts to build and maintain that six pack.

Training abs requires a lot of hard work and imagination. Of all the body parts, abs are probably the least fun to train, but they’re also the first thing to get noticed on the beach.

Not only are strong and defined abs the cornerstone of an ideal physique, but having core body strength is also vital for top performance in all your physical activities. And I do mean ALL your physical activities!

Properly trained abs can help you be more competitive in sports, they can make it easier to do your job or fix things around the house, and, best of all, they can make your romantic romps more fun and exciting. Not bad for just a few minutes of concentrated effort each week!

I recommend training your abs every other day, after a weight workout. All you have to do is choose two or three different exercises and perform four to five sets of 10-12 reps for each one.
Just remember, however, that no amount of any exercise will give you that coveted six pack if you have a layer of fat around your middle.

You need to get your body fat down to about 10% or less before your abdominal muscles become visible. So be sure to consistently eat right and do a lot of cardio. I often tell people that the best exercise for abs is 30 minutes on the treadmill!

For the sake of this article, I’m going to assume that your nutrition is on target, that you’re training aerobically to stay lean, and that you really want to enhance your training so you can develop world-class abs.

What follows are my top 10 favorite abdominal exercises of all time. Some of them will look absolutely crazy. Others will look kind of familiar, but with a special twist or two to make them more effective. The whole point is to hit your abs from a lot of different angles so you can really get them to pop.

If you’re ready to take your abdominal training to the next level, here we go:

Tornado Ball — Wall Chops and Seated Chops

• Grasp a Tornado Ball with a slight “choke up” on the rope. To do the wall chops, lean back against a sturdy wall and bend your knees into a slight squat. Then rotate from side to side, slamming the Tornado Ball against the wall. Do this ballistically for about 30 seconds. Seated chops are performed with the same intensity. Simply sit down on the floor and move the ball overhead. These two movements are nearly impossible to duplicate in any gym. Start with one 30-second set for each exercise.

Surrender Sit-Ups

• These are called surrender sit-ups due to the hand position. Your arms will be above your head as if you were surrendering to someone. In the upright position, place your feet flat on the floor. Slowly lower yourself back like a traditional sit-up, but only go as far as you can without lifting your feet off the floor. When your feet begin to rise, come back up to the starting position. Squeeze your glutes throughout the entire movement.

Power Wheel Crunches

• Unlike a traditional “ab wheel,” a Power Wheel is attached to your feet and you move your legs instead of your arms. You can either bend your knees and tuck them into your chest, or do a “pike” with straight legs. Either way, be sure to exhale on each contraction.

Swiss Ball Weighted Crunches

• The opportunities are endless when it comes to a Swiss Ball, but weighted crunches are one of my favorites. Choose a weight that allows you to perform 3 sets of 8–10 repetitions. Position yourself on the ball just to the front of the top (to ensure a full range of motion) and slowly allow your spine to wrap back around the ball. Be sure to anchor your feet with a weight at least twice as heavy as the weight you use to perform the exercise.

Swiss Ball Reverse Crunches

• Position your body so your scapula is centered on the top of the ball. Grab a stationary handle above your head and tuck your knees up and around towards your face. I use my eyes as a reference point. As in all abdominal exercises, it’s imperative that you exhale during the effort. Reps are not the only indicator of a good abdominal workout…you should feel each one in the muscle, without obsessing over how many you do.

Hanging Leg Raises

• There are two schools of thought when it comes to hanging leg raises. If you do the entire movement from completely stretched out to completely contracted, then your psoas muscles (hip flexors) assist in the movement. If you start the movement with your legs bent at 90 degrees, you eliminate the use of the hip flexor group. I suggest you mix it up and do the exercise both ways.

Janda Sit-Ups

• These are tremendous once you get the hang of them. Assume the traditional sit-up position, with your arms crossed over your chest. Have someone grab the back of your calves and pull slightly. Slowly sit up, maintaining a contraction in the glutes. If you can’t pull yourself up right away, start with the negative part of the movement.

Full Contact Twists

• These are similar to Tornado Ball chops, but they can be done in a gym without any special equipment. Get a 45 lb. Olympic bar and place one end in a corner to hold it in place. With your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and arms fully extended, hold the opposite end of the bar and rotate it overhead in a semi-circular motion. Be sure to rotate at the waist and feel the movement throughout your entire core. Do 1–3 sets of 15–20 reps.

Medicine Ball Throws on Swiss Ball

• Assume the same position on the Swiss Ball as you would if you were doing weighted crunches, and position your feet under two dumbbells for safety. Ask a partner to help you with an 8–10 lb. medicine ball. While seated on the Swiss Ball in an upright position, have your partner throw the medicine ball over your head so you can catch it (under control) while lying back over the Swiss Ball. Sit up and throw the medicine ball back to your partner. Do 3 sets of 12–15 reps.

Cable Side Crunches

• Using a cable in the highest position, grasp the handle with one hand and rest the other on top the hand grabbing the handle. Your hand should be at your temple. Keeping your arm completely stationary, crunch between the waist and lower chest only. The movement will be small and very isolated. Be sure to do both sides for about 3 sets of 12-15 reps with a challenging weight.

There you have it—if these 10 exercises can’t give your abs a good workout, nothing can!

Standing Pilates - Wall Roll Down

Start Position

Wall roll down is a simple way to practice using your abs to achieve the articulated curve of the spine that we use so much in Pilates. It stretches the back and the hamstrings, as it works the abdominals, and teaches good posture. What's better than that?

This is a good way to train for more challenging exercises like the roll up, where you also use the sequential activation of upper and lower abs to curl and un-curl the torso.

Modify wall roll down by only going down as far as you are comfortable, bending your knees slightly, and leaving your arms at your sides.

TO START:

• Stand tall against a wall. Leaving your body on the wall, walk your feet six to ten inches away from the wall.
• Pull your abdominals in.
• Keep your shoulders away from your ears, your chest wide and your ribs down as you raise your arms straight up over head.

Begin the Roll Down

• Your arms stay parallel to your ears as you nod your head and begin to slowly roll your spine down and away from the wall, vertebrae by vertebrae.
• The abdominals stay lifted and there is a sense of lengthening the spine as you roll down.
  

Deepen the Curve

• As the roll down progresses, you have the opportunity to deepen the scoop of the abs even more. Work slowly, peeling the spine away from the wall.Let your head and neck relax

At the Deepest Curve

• Roll down as far as you can go without letting your hips leave the wall. Your abdominals are very pulled in.
• Feel the curve evenly along the upper, middle and lower sections of your torso.
• You could be getting a good hamstring stretch here.
  

The Return - More for the Abs

• Begin your return up the wall by initiating the roll up with your lower abs. This is a powerhouse move.Think of using the lower abs to bring your pelvis to an upright position.
• Continue up, placing each vertebrae on the wall, one by one.
• As you roll up, your arms travel alongside your ears and the shoulders stay relaxed.

The Finale - Standing with Extension:

• As you come close to upright, you will feel a moment when you can let the ribs stay down as shoulders drop into place. It feels a bit like your upper body is rolling up between your shoulders
• Bring your roll up to the starting position. Be sure your abs are engaged and your shoulders are dropped.
• Arms are overhead with wide shoulders and an open chest.
  Wall Roll Down is a perfect transition exercise for taking your Pilates awareness into your daily life. You might want to review Pilates Posture Check.

Use Pilates Exercises to Flatten Your Stomach

Pilates is an exercise method based on the work of Joseph Pilates. Its primary function is to focus on strengthening the "powerhouse" (abs and buttocks) while increasing flexibility, strengthening muscles and improving posture.


These exercises involve concentration and the coordination of breath and movement, which helps to balance the mind and body.


Pilates is excellent for someone who wants to tone their stomach and abs because it works to make the entire body lean. And as I've said numerous times on this site, you cannot have leaner, toner abs until you work on making your entire body lean.


There's no such thing as spot toning. You have to work everything so Pilates is ideal for helping your whole body become leaner so you can get the stomach and abs you've been desiring.
Now you can purchase several different Pilates exercise programs that focus solely on the abs. I bought Pilates Abs Workout with Ana Caban. I like it because the exercise routine is not very long (25 minutes) and it's not too difficult to do.


The nice thing about the video is that there are two levels. You can follow Ana for more advanced moves and there's another girl you can follow if you want to take it easy at first and do the beginner moves. Another plus for Pilates is that if you perform the exercises regularly you'll see fast results.


Unlike many fitness programs, Pilates exercises are not based on the principle "more is better". Instead it focuses on limited repetitions of each exercise and quality of each movement.
So instead of doing 50 leg raises, you may only do 10 to 12. A smaller number of reps are important because you don't tire as easily and you can focus on the quality of every move instead of just trying to finish.


Here are some good Pilates exercises to do if you're just focusing on your abs. All of these moves are from Ana Caban's DVD I mentioned above.


Note: Before beginning any type of exercise routine, you should always consult a physician



The Roll Up:

The roll up is one of the classic Pilates Mat exercises. Roll Up is a great challenge for the abdominal muscles, and is well known as a foundation exercise for the Pilates flat abs effect.

It has been said that one Pilates roll up is equal to six regular sit ups, and is much better than crunches for creating a flat stomach. If you are new to Pilates, or you have neck or upper back pain, you may want to begin developing your strength with Wall Roll Down and Supported Roll Back.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: 5 min.

Here's How:

• Lie on the floor with your legs straight. Let your belly drop down toward the floor and make sure your shoulders are relaxed and away from your ears. Take a few deep sequential breaths to make sure that you are in good alignment and breathing fully.
  When you are ready, leave your scapula anchored in your back and the ribs down, as you bring your arms straight up over your head so that your finger tips are pointing to the wall behind you. This will be your beginning position
  
• Inhale: Leave your scapula engaged in your back as you bring your arms up over head. As your arms pass your ears let the chin drop and head and upper spine join the motion to curve up.
  
• Exhale: Continue in one smooth motion to roll your body in an "up and over" motion toward your toes. Deepen the curve of the abdominals as you exhale; and finally, keeping the head tucked, the abdominals deep and the back rounded, reach for your toes
  Ideally the legs are kept straight throughout this exercise, with energy reaching out through the heels. However, a modification would be to allow the legs to bend a bit, especially as you come up and reach toward the toes.
  
• Inhale: Bring the breath fully into the pelvis and back as you pull the lower abs in, reach the tail bone under and begin to unfurl, vertebrae by vertebrae, back down to the floor.
  The inhale initiates this motion until you are about half way down. *Be sure to keep the legs on the floor and don't let them fly up as you roll down. Check that your shoulders are relaxed and not creeping up
  
• Exhale: Continue to set one vertebrae after another down on the floor.
  Keep your upper body curve as you go down slowly and sequentially. The arms are still outstretched and following the natural motion of the shoulders as you roll down. Once your shoulders come to the floor, the arms go with the head you continue to roll down to the mat.
  
• Do Up to Six Repetitions: The roll up is one continuous controlled flowing motion, up and down. Try to synchronize with the breath. If you do this exercise with full attention, six repetitions will be sufficient.

Single Straight Legged Stretch:

Single straight legs is an intermediate Pilates mat exercise that challenges abdominal endurance and stretches the backs of the legs. This is a different exercise than Single Leg Stretch.

Modifications for this exercise include leaving the head down, bending the knees slightly, and increasing or decreasing the distance between the legs.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: 5 min.

Here's How:

• Begin by lying flat on the mat but with your legs extended toward the ceiling. Legs and heels are together in Pilates stance, rotated slightly outward from the hips.
  
• Lengthen your spine, pull in your abdominals, and curl your chin and upper body up off the mat. The tips of the shoulder blades touch the mat.
  
  You will maintain this upper body lift throughout the exercise. It is supported by the abdominals, not by straining the back or neck. Chest lift is a good building-block exercise for this move.
  
• Grasp your right ankle, or below the knee if you have tight hamstrings. Stretch your left leg out at a 45 degree angle.
  You can adjust the angle of the outstretched leg to make the exercise more or less difficult. The lower the leg, the harder the abdominals have to work to maintain alignment.
  
• Inhale: Gently pull your right leg toward you. Pulse the leg toward you twice, increasing your stretch.
  Switch legs quickly.
  
• Exhale: Pull your left leg toward you. Pulse the leg toward you twice, increasing your stretch.
  Switch legs quickly
  
• Repeat 6-10 times.If you begin to feel strain in your neck, it is time to rest and then begin again
  

Tips:

• Modify by keeping your head down and/or bending the knees slightly.
  
• If you choose to increase difficulty by lowering the outstretched leg, you must be able to use your abdominals to keep your lower back from popping up off the mat.
  
• Try to get a nice smooth rhythm going with the breath and the switching of the legs.
  
• In a deep scoop like this one, you will want to breathe deeply into your back and sides.
  
• The exercise, swimming, will provide a good counter stretch for single straight leg stretch.
  
  
  
• What You Need:
  An Exercise Mat

Double Straight Legged Stretch:

1. Lie on your back with your legs straight.

2. Slowly raise your head and neck off the mat as if you're starting a basic crunch. Place your hands behind your head.

3. Bend both legs in and raise them off the floor then straighten and point them in the air at 11 o'clock. Keep your head and neck off the floor.

4. Slowly move both legs down (keeping them together and as straight as you can) until they are about a foot from the floor.

5. Now raise them back up and begin again.

6. Repeat this 10 times.

One Leg Circles:

1. Lie on your back with arms at your sides. Pulling in your abs, extend the left leg toward the ceiling, and point your toe. Now rotate your foot slightly inward.

2. Rotate leg clockwise. Breathe in as you round your leg down without touching the floor. Exhale as you rotate your leg up to 12 o'clock.

3. Repeat this 5 times and switch legs.