Many people cannot get a flat stomach because they do not know exactly what they should do. They get some info from here and there. They start to do abs exercises every day but see no results. Others buy “magic” machines and pills. Somebody goes on a dangerous diet, but that desired flat abdomen just does not come.
Getting a flat belly, or six-pack abs depends on numerous factors. It is not enough to do exercises, do cardio or follow some weight loss suggestions. It is more complicated than that.
I have just created a short video on how to get a flat stomach in which I share what are the most important facts you need to know. Below the video, you can read more details about the suggested tips.
1. Don’t Train You Abs Daily
Several years ago somebody stated that abdominal muscles can be trained daily, and that is the only method to get six-pack abs. This is a big misconception.
It is true that those muscles are different from the other muscles a bit, but they need resting, as well. When you train any sorts of muscles they are damaged and they need resting to recover.
It is enough to do ab workouts 3, maximum 5 times a week. If your core is not rested, you will not be able to do activities correctly in your next session.
2. Training JUST Your Abs Won’t Help
If you want to get a flat abdomen, you should train all the major muscle groups. Do a different leg, back, chest, shoulder, and arm workouts. You can find several cheap home fitness equipment here for full-body training at home.
You should also do compound exercises. Any exercise in which you use more than one muscle group at the same time is called a compound exercise. Consider squatting: It engages all your major muscle groups in one motion, including your core, quads, hamstrings, glutes, calf muscles, and hip flexors. The benefits of compound exercises include improving your strength, physique, and general health. Compound exercises make bones stronger, joints flexible, and help lose fat in addition to building muscles.
Read the following post to see which are the best compound exercises that help to get rid of belly fat.
Related: What are the Best Exercises to Burn Belly Fat
3. You Need Strong Lower Back
Several people complain about having lower back pain while they do abdominal exercises. This is mainly because they do not exercise accurately or they have weak lower back.
Abdominal and lower back muscles are responsible for proper posture. They work together in various movements. A strong lower back helps to avoid injuries and makes your posture better. Doing lower back exercises also help to slim your hips and waist.
4. Crunches are NOT the Best to Flatten your Tummy
Again somebody, somewhere said that crunch is the greatest workout to get flat abs. No! It is useful for toning and maybe for strengthening the muscles, but it is not as beneficial as it is said. There are a few variations that are better than the common one such as bicycle crunches.
There are far better ab workouts such as planks, leg raising, mountain climber variations, etc., you can insert it into your routine.
Do not believe you will have flat abs just because you do hundreds of crunches every day.
Check out the following study that has proved that crunches are among the inefficient ab exercises.
5. Doing Abdominal Workouts is not Enough
If you already have a lean stomach with almost no belly fat, this is perhaps not true for you. However, most people’s abdomen is covered with fat. You should get rid of that fat to make muscles visible.
80% of the well-known exercises for abdominal muscles are good for strengthening and toning, but not for burning belly fat. You should do cardio frequently over 20-30 minutes, be on a healthy diet and look after your calorie and nutrition intake. You have to lose weight. Forget those sugar-rich and unhealthy foods. Your is aim to prevent yourself from having more fat on your belly.
When you consistently consume fewer calories than your body needs to burn calories, you have a calorie deficit. The majority of people are able to lose weight with a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day. This deficit is unlikely to significantly impact your appetite or energy levels.
6. Do Various Core Exercises
Your abdomen contains many muscles so if you want to get a flat stomach you should target all of them. A certain exercise usually trains only one particular muscle, and the others are worked just a little.
As you do core exercises, you strengthen the muscles of your pelvis, low back, hips, and abdomen. Whether you are exercising or doing daily activities, this will improve your balance and stability.
Why weak core is a problem?
Having weak core muscles makes your back unable to support your weight adequately, resulting in back pain. Sometimes you’ll feel a nagging pain in your back after hours of sitting, or sharp pain in a particular part of your back when you stand. Core muscles make a big difference when it comes to standing straight – or slouching when you’re sitting down. Weak cores can’t support the ribcage, shoulders, and head correctly, so you slump and slouch. Weak core muscles can’t hold your spine in proper alignment or maintain a proper center of gravity. This results in you compensating in other ways, which makes you unbalanced.
Related: Here is a huge collection of core exercises.
7. There are Foods which Help to Burn Belly Fat
Luckily, there are various foods and meals, mainly vegetables and fruits, which contain components that help to burn belly fat or reduce your hunger. For instance, consuming apples have positive effects on getting rid of body fat and it has numerous other benefits for general health.
Strong Core Helps Injury Prevention
As I stated abdominal muscles are responsible for decent posture. These muscles are the most used ones during our daily life and of course during workouts. Researches have confirmed that people with a strong core and lower back have far fewer lower-body injuries than others. For instance, a tight core can help to get rid of lower back pain.
You Do Not Need “Magic” Machines
Each month a new piece of magic equipment comes out telling us it will make six-pack abs by utilizing it 5 minutes a day. I do not say each of them is garbage, but several are far less efficient as they are told. There are so many home bodyweight ab workout routines you can do and prove to be efficient. I think the best 2 abdominal machines are the abdominal bench and the ab slider.
Strong Abs Help with Other Sports
No matter what kind of sport you do, a strong core will help you to be better at it. For example, F1 drivers train their midsection even if they do not do a lot of movements.
Finally, here is a great infographic with more info on what you need to do to have six-packs abs.
Conclusion
These are the most essential points you need to know about your abs. If you desire to get a flat belly, you should follow the suggestions discussed above. Anyway, it is pretty easy. Eat well and work out. That is all.
Have you got any questions or other tips on how to get a flat belly? Use the comment section below