Trouble Spots: The Core

Training the doughnut around our midsection is a top priority for about 99% of the people trying to get in better shape. That area - the hips, belly, butt area - is referred to as the CORE. Here are some tips to a Flatter Stomach...

*Suck in your stomach - keeping your belly contracted is one of the most important ways to getting a flatter stomach. Think of it like a zip lock bag - the muscles of the abdomen are unlike the muscles anywhere else, as they are responsible for keeping our body erect, so they are layered. Many people do crunches. Without sucking in the stomach while crunching you will only work the deep layer of abdominals - where you can't see. This is all good but strengthening those will push the top layer further out and therefore make you look like you're getting chubbier while working out. We don't want that. So we make our abs into the Ziploc bags - sucking them in is like squeezing the air out of the bag while sealing it. Squeeze the muscles into one unit and you'll get 10 times the effect from one crunch!!!

*Drink plenty of water. We could all do with doubling our water intake - as most Americans do not consume enough water. BUT here's the deal - we retain water when we DON"T drink enough. I know it seems like the more water we drink the more we would retain, but that's NOT true. If you are constantly giving the body water - it feels it doesn't need to retain. The body only stores what it believes it will need. It is a reverse process.

*Cardio is your friend. It is impossible to target train. Meaning doing only crunches won't necessarily help you to achieve a flatter midsection. You need to burn more calories than you are in-taking. To do that as efficiently as possible, you need to flex many muscles repeatedly for an extended period of time - aka Cardio-Respiratory Training. Walking, Jogging, Cardio Machines, Cardio Classes, etc. These will help you burn through what you ate today in order to get to the fat stored from yesterday.