Belly Fat Loss Secrets

We all want to get washboard abs.   Safe to say?

Sure losing some belly fat may be the main short term goal, but overall, when push comes to shove, we’d all like to rip our shirt off at the pool with 100% confidence and put our ripped, six pack abs on display.

To make this a reality however, the thing we have to remember is that training your abs isn’t the only thing you need to concentrate on if you want a nice stomach.

Below are a few ab training myths you need to lookout for if you want to develop great abs.

Spot reducing the fat on your stomach with crunches is possible

Crunches alone, no matter how many you do, will not help you dump your abdominal fat.  Good nutrition, coupled with interval training and strength training are what you need.

In fact, most athletes that have ripped six-pack abs didn’t get them by showing up to their training facility to crank out endless sets of crunches. Instead, they use compound movements in their training programs that work many muscles at one time. The intensity of their weight training, and their short, quick interval style cardio training gets them lean and helps them get washboard abs.

To get six-pack abs you have to train them daily

Your abs do not need to be worked everyday. Training them two or three times a week will do the trick. If you are a beginner start with planks and side planks to train your abs. If you are more advanced, exercises like Mountain Climbers and Renegade Dumbell Rows not only work you abs, but reduce stress on your low back, and also burn a lot of calories in the process.

Exercise means more to getting great abs than nutrition

You’ll never be able to out train a bad diet. If you want to get washboard abs you are going to have to do what it takes. Planning your meals in advance to help avoid the temptation of eating out for lunch may be necessary. Getting the right amount of protein, fruits and vegetables, and avoiding calorie-laden drinks are also critical to your success.

Figuring out what to eat, and how much of it to eat is most of the battle when it comes to getting lean and losing belly fat.  If you’re lost on this topic it may be worth it to check out Cheat Your Way Thin by Joel Marion.  I downloaded my copy a couple days ago and read it from start to finish.  It goes over serving sizes, what foods to eat, the glycemic index/load of foods, and more.  Check it out Here.

Ever wondered why it’s so tough to lose the last 10 pounds?

It’s definitely frustrating to see the last 10 clinging to your legs or stomach for dear life especially when you’ve fought long and hard to drop the first 10 (or 20). But from an exercise perspective, it really only comes down two reasons, or factors as to why the last 10 is so hard to lose. It could be one or the other that is causing the problem, or it could very well be both.

Here they are:

Intensity

Depending on the activity, whether it’s a cardio activity or strength training, in time, your body will do everything it can to adapt to what you’re doing. So the exercise program that once provided your body with the stimulus to lose fat or build muscle, is now ineffective.

Since your body has adapted, it now doesn’t have to work as hard to get the same amount of work done, and as a result it becomes harder for you make progrss. This being the case, to lose the last 10 pounds, and to start making progress again you’ll need to kick-up the intensity of your workouts. For weight training a few easy options would be to add more weight to the bar, decrease your rest periods, or move to circuit style workouts. As for cardio, interval training is the best way to shock your body back into fat loss mode, especially if your body is used to longer slower cardio routines.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, Turbulence Training (which I own and am an affiliate for) will definitely help you on the intensity front. It also helps you in terms of exercise selection by giving you the exercises that will help you burn the most amount of belly fat in the least amount of time.

Nutrition

The other reason could be that something has changed with your caloric intake. Maybe you’ve fallen into some bad habits and you know that you’re eating more than you have been. Or without even realizing it maybe you’ve slacked off a bit and lost focus. If that’s the case, don’t let it get you down, just take baby steps back to eating right. Unfortunately, no matter how hard your workout, you’ll never be able to out exercise a few extra chips here, a few M&M’s there, a regular soda or two, etc.

To get a detailed personal account of what you should be eating it is always best to consult a dietician, but something you can definitely do to start losing the last 10 pounds with respect to nutrition is to increase the frequency of your meals.

Eating 5 to 6 smaller healthy meals a day (or 3 meals and a couple healthy snacks) helps decrease the likelihood that the food you eat will be stored as fat. It will also help you preserve your lean body mass by supplying your body with a steady supply of nutrients that will keep your energy levels constant, and help you avoid dips in your energy levels that typically follow a large meal filled with refined cardbohydrates.

As far as your healthy meals, within each meal, it’s best to have a serving of lean protein like grilled chicken, turkey, salmon, or any lean cut of beef. For your source of carbohydrates to eat along with your lean protein, foods like sweet potatoes, brown rice, whole grains, fruits, and lots of vegetables are all good choices.

If you do decide to go the Turbulence Training route to help you lose the last 10 pounds, it also comes with a nutrition guide that will help you with food choices.

If you’ve decided it’s time to start losing tummy fat, because quite frankly, what you’re doing hasn’t been working,  there are a few exercises that  you may want to avoid overdoing if you want to finally get rid of your belly fat.  You’ll probably recognize them.  See below:-)

Cut Down on Crunches

This goes way against conventional wisdom I know.   Your mind tells you that if you want to get rid of stomach fat, do exercises that focus on your stomach.  The reality of the situation is that if you focus too much of your time in the gym trying to shrink your stomach through crunches, you’ll end up wasting a lot of time and doing very little in terms of losing fat.   The reason is that they hardly burn any calories.   Not saying that strenghthening your core isn’t important, but if you want to ditch the belly fat you need to do exercises that really get your heart pumping.

Limit the Adductor/Abductor Machine
 
This machine is a huge offender.  Everytime I’m in the gym I see women on this thing in hopes of losing the fat on their inner and outer thigh.  Unfortunately like the crunch above this machine is a huge time waster when over used.  Not saying that this machine has no place in your workout, but if you want to start losing tummy fat today, the bulk of your strength training workout should be comprised of compound movements that work the major muscles of your body.

Boring, long, and slow cardio routines

Coming in a close third is the long slow cardio routine.   Back in the day it was thought that if you wanted to lose fat you needed to spend an inordinate amount of time walking on the treadmill, or doing some other form of same speed cardio exercises.  These days we know through science that higher intensity weight training and cardio interval training gives you way more bang for your buck in terms of losing tummy fat.  The best part is that you need very little equipment to implement interval training. If you have a pair of tennis shoes, a sidewalk, or a treadmill, you’re ready get started.

Need a couple quick tips to get your body burning stomach fat effectively?  If you feel like you’re making no ground on losing fat and are ready to raise the white flag and accept defeat, not so fast.  Here’s a couple tips that will definitely get you burning more stomach fat, sooner, rather than later.

1) Eat more of the right foods

The first and most important part of burning fat is to eat more of the right foods.  Goes without saying that avoiding salty, carb and calorie filled snacks is a good idea, but it’s also important to take control of your regular meals as well.  Keep breakfast free from the usual bowl of sugar and refined carbs we call cereal.  For lunch, if you’re stuck going out to eat with your coworkers, get something with a lean meat, like grilled chicken or grilled salmon.  Eating 5 to 6 healthy meals (or three meals and two healthy snacks) a day will not only help you feel full longer, but you’ll also burn more calories from the energy your body expends digesting these high fiber, high protein foods.

2) Interval Training

If you haven’t heard by now, interval training is a form of cardiovascular training were you alternate periods of faster, more intense, walking or running, with slower periods of less intense exercise.

Applying this form of training to your program is easy and can be used regardless of your fitness level. If you have no exercise limitations, sprinting is a great for interval training.  If you are a complete exercise novice, you can start interval training by walking or riding an exercise bike at only a slightly faster pace than usual for a period of time.

If you do use a treadmill or exercise bike as your primary means of burning stomach fat, you can use the timer on the display to time your intervals. Start by kicking up the intensity and maintain that pace anywhere from 15-45 seconds, depending on your fitness level. Follow that with a slower period of less intense work, until you’ve recovered.

Was thinking about a few of the biggest diet gimmicks people get tripped up on early in their fight to lose stomach fat quickly.  There are a ton for sure, but a few stand out.   Here are the worst offenders:
Read more…