How can you make your belly flat and beautiful? We already know that you need to run, keep to a diet and do abdominal exercises. Are there any additional tricks that can shorten your way to the cherished goal? There are! They will be discussed in this article.
You jog in the morning, you do not eat anything after 6 p.m., and your fridge is filled with only healthy food, but the fat is too slow to disappear, and you keep thinking of a flat belly.
Of course, the above mentioned habits are an excellent starting-point, but they are not enough. Below you will find additional tips to help you quickly reach your goal – a perfectly flat belly.
1. Accelerate the pace of walk
You will surely be interested to know that you are able to burn 25% more calories simply by occasionally speeding up your usual pace of walk.
A study revealed that short intense loads lead to the reduction of visceral (abdominal) fat by an average of 20% after just three months, while prolonged exercise at a moderate pace does not lead to similar results.
Therefore, if you need quick results, it would be reasonable to arrange speedy walking for at least 30 minutes 2-3 times a week. During these walks you need to maintain such a pace that does not allow you to speak continuously.
If you cannot maintain this pace throughout the walk, train at intervals: replace faster pace with a slow one and then resume fast walking again.
Here are some ways to keep track of the intervals:
- With the help of the player: one song accompanies acceleration, while another one serves for restoration, the third one starts acceleration again, and so on.
- With the help of a smartwatch: measure the intervals of 3-5 minutes. The first segment is for acceleration, the second one is for recovery, and then the process is repeated all over again.
- On hilly terrains: accelerate up the hill and relax running down the hill.
2. Use a fitness ball
A fitness ball is needed to increase the load on the abdominal muscles when performing twists (an exercise training the abdominal muscles).
Researchers from the State University of San Diego have discovered that such a simple method can increase the load on the straight abdominal muscles by 40% and on the oblique muscles – approximately by 47%.
However, one should also understand that twisting is only a piece of the puzzle, which strengthens the upper belly muscles. The way to a flat belly lies through building internal muscles.
How to work out the internal muscles? One of the easiest ways is the plank.
3. Weight lifting
Such vigorous exercises as brisk walking or running are an excellent way to get a flat belly, but if you add more exercises with weights, you can achieve the result much faster.
A 12-week experiment was conducted in Skidmore College, and its result helped draw the following conclusions. The people, who combined aerobic exercises and weight training and kept to a high-protein diet, burned twice more fat (in particular, it removed four times more fat from the abdominal area) than those who did only cardio exercises and ate traditional foods.
So think about how to get engaged in gym workouts.
4. Do balance exercises
If you already attend a gym, you have gone forward in comparison with the 80% of people who do not. Even common exercises (squats, deadlifts) involve the core muscles of the middle part of the body, including the press.
But if your goal is to work out every single muscle, you should think about adding balance exercises to your training complex. The fact is that when you, for instance, stand on one leg, your body is forced to use all the core muscles to maintain balance and prevent falling.
Another good way to engage your abdominal muscles together with other muscles of the body is to keep a light weight above the head during the exercise (such as lunges or squats). The idea is that the muscles of the central part of the body are the link between the lower and upper parts of the body. And the greater the distance from the center of the body to the fingertips, the greater is the burden placed on these muscles because their task is to keep the body upright.
5. Before you go to bed
Proper nutrition and regular exercise make up a perfect way to gain a flat belly, but only if you find the time to sleep.
Lack of sleep leads to increased concentrations of cortisol (a stress hormone) and abdominal fat. This is a confirmed fact.
The research, which had lasted for six years, found that the adults who sleep an average of 5-6 hours per day are 35% more likely to gain 4-5 extra kilos and have a 60% higher probability to get fat in the abdominal area than those who sleep an average of 7-8 hours.
6. Drink green tea
Green tea is good for your skin and helps fight cancer. It is also a good product for those who seek a beautiful figure.
The experiment, the results of which were published in the Journal of Nutrition, has showed that the people who exercise and drink at least four cups of green tea per day for 12 weeks, burn eight times more fat in the abdominal area than the people, who consume their usual caffeinated beverages.
This is a serious reason to think about taking green tea to the training.
7. Stick to a special workout program
The last item we offer you is an exemplary training program, which you can stick to in order to obtain a flat and nice belly.
If you do not have enough time to do all the suggested exercises at once, start with cardio exercises, add exercises with weights, and then include abdominal exercises.
Here is an example of a training program:
- Monday: cardio training at the same pace for at least 30 minutes.
- Tuesday: interval cardio training (acceleration, restoration, acceleration) for at least 30 minutes. This is followed by weight exercises together with two balance exercises. The total time is 20-30 minutes.
- Wednesday: rest.
- Thursday: interval cardio training (acceleration, restoration, acceleration) for at least 30 minutes followed by the exercises involving the abdominal muscles.
- Friday: weight exercises with two balance exercises.
- The total time is 20-30 minutes.
- Saturday: Monday’s program.
- Sunday: Tuesday’s program.
These are the seven points that we would like to tell you today. If you find the article useful, save it not to lose the information or share it with your friends.
