You wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and what do you see? More often than not, that sexy chiseled stomach is hiding under a layer of unwanted fat. What a depressing way to start your morning. There are two options to start your morning on a positive note; one is don’t look in the mirror and two is lose some weight.
There is a misconception that doing more crunches or sit-ups is going to cause these incredible muscles to poke through that fat layer. The other misconception is that you can target fat; well, yes you can target fat if you get surgery but not by dieting and exercising. Everyone has a unique and special genetic makeup for one reason or another. So accept the fact that you might have to put a little work into your body if you want to see the results you are hoping for when looking in the mirror.
One way to work on the mid-section and lose some weight is by running – or its equivalent. Yes, you are still reading an article on how to get a flat stomach. While running, the core of the body is continuously stabilizing to adapt to the variation in the terrain. Additionally, by pumping the arms as you run or even better yet, when you sprint with high knees, you are engaging the oblique and abductor muscles. Hiking is another similar exercise. Strive to find a trail that is at least four to six miles round trip with some elevation. These types of exercises will burn calories and give you the results that you are looking for when preformed two or three times a week and combined with a balanced diet.
What we are focusing on are endurance and cardio exercises that work on burning fat and tightening up the stomach. Obviously the sit-ups are not working, so find any program that gets you up off your backside and works up a sweat.
Something we often never think about while training is developing balance in the muscles. For instance when you dominate the front of your body by focusing on a six-pack, the backside of the body is neglected, causing back pain. Obviously no one likes to have chronic back pain. To protect yourself, train the lower back and oblique equal to the abductors (stomach muscles) to maintain balance in the core. Tae Kwon Do goes along with the philosophy of balance. When you practice a martial art such as Tae Kwon Do, you focus on kicking, punching and blocking – burning calories while developing the stomach and back equally.
Speaking of balance, there are no better exercises you will find than in a yoga class. Yoga works on balancing muscles as well as the breath. When it comes to yoga there are always options. Here are a few suggestions; power yoga, ashtanga yoga, and a specific class for core.
Perhaps this seems to be the long way around to a smaller mid section, but only to those who are content with their jelly belly. As mentioned above, there is no way to target fat. Warning – the exercises in this article may have some lasting side effects, such as stronger cardio, lower cholesterol, more energy, stronger, more toned muscles and healthier cells. In the process you will build more than a beautiful body but a beautiful you.
