7 additional hacks for those who want a flat stomach

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

How to make your belly flat and beautiful? We already know that you need to run, watch your diet and do ab exercises, but are there any other additional tricks that can shorten our path to the cherished goal? There is! We will talk about them in this article.

You run in the morning, don't put anything in your mouth after 6 pm, and your refrigerator is only filled with healthy food, but despite all this, fat goes away too slowly, and thoughts of a flat stomach do not leave you alone for a minute.

Of course, all of the above are great starting habits, but they are not enough. Below you will find additional tips to help you reach your goal of a perfectly flat stomach faster.

1. Accelerate your walking pace

You will probably be interested to know that you are able to burn 25% more calories by simply speeding up your usual walking pace from time to time.

One study found that short, intense exercise led to an average of 20% reduction in visceral (abdominal) fat after three months from the day of implementation, while long-term exercise at a moderate pace did not show anything like this.

Therefore, if you need quick results, it will be a reasonable decision on your part to set yourself the task of arranging speed walks for yourself 2-3 times a week, each lasting at least 30 minutes. During these walks, you need to maintain a pace where you can only speak abruptly.

If you cannot maintain this pace throughout the walk, train in intervals: change the fast pace to a slow one, and then switch to a fast one again.

Here are some ways to track intervals:

• With the help of the player: one song - acceleration, another - recovery, on the third again acceleration, and so on.
• With your smartwatch: measure in 3–5 minute intervals. The first segment is acceleration, the second is recovery, and repeat the process again.
• On hilly terrain: accelerate uphill and relax downhill.

2. Use a fitness ball

A fitness ball is needed to increase the load on the abdominal muscles when doing crunches (exercises to work out the abdominal muscles).

Researchers at San Diego State University have found that in this simple way, you can increase the load on the rectus abdominis muscle by 40% and by about 47% on the obliques.

But it's also worth realizing that twisting is just one piece of the whole puzzle that strengthens the upper muscles. The road to a flat stomach also lies through the development of internal muscles.

How to work out the internal muscles? One of the simplest methods is exercises, which are commonly called planks. You can watch how these exercises are performed in the video below.

3. Download iron

Vigorous exercises like brisk walking or running are great for building a flat belly, but if you add resistance exercises to them, you can achieve results much faster.

A 12-week experiment at Skidmore College led to the following conclusion. People who combined aerobic and strength training and ate a high protein diet burned twice as much fat (in particular, lost four times more body fat in the abdomen) than people who received only cardio and ate traditional food …

So consider buying a gym membership.

4. Do balance exercises

If you already visit the gym, then you are ahead of the 80% of people who do not. After all, even general exercises (squats, deadlifts) include the main muscles of the middle part of the body, including the abs.

But if your goal is to work out each individual muscle, then it is worth considering adding balance exercises to your workout routine. The fact is that when you, for example, stand on one leg, your body is forced to use all major muscles in order to maintain balance and prevent falling.

Here are some balance exercises you can try:

Another good way to work your abs in conjunction with other muscles in your body is to keep a light weight over your head while you exercise (like lunges or squats). The point is that the muscles in the central body are the link between the lower and upper torso. And the greater the distance from the center of the body to the fingertips, the greater the load falls on these muscles, because their task is to keep the body upright.

5. Go to bed early

Eating right and exercising regularly is a sure way to get a flat stomach, but only if you take the time to sleep.

Lack of sleep leads to an increase in the concentration of cortisol (stress hormone) and abdominal fat. This is a confirmed fact.

A study was conducted that lasted six whole years. It was found that adults who sleep an average of 5-6 hours a day are 35% more likely to gain 4-5 extra pounds and are 60% more likely to get fat in the abdomen than those who sleep 7- 8 ocloc'k.

Consider going to bed earlier.

6. Drink green tea

Green tea is good for the skin and helps fight cancer. It is also a good tool for those who strive for a beautiful figure., published in the Journal of Nutrition, found that people who exercised and drank at least four cups of green tea a day for 12 weeks burned eight times more abdominal fat than humans. have consumed regular caffeinated drinks.

This is a serious reason to think about taking green tea for your workout.

7. Stick to a specific workout program

As a final point, we offer you an approximate training program that you can follow in order to find a flat and beautiful belly.

If you don't have enough time to do all the proposed exercises at once, then start with cardio, then add resistance exercises, and only then ab exercises.

Here's an example of a workout program:

• Monday: Cardio at one pace for at least 30 minutes.
• Tuesday: Interval cardio load (acceleration, recovery, acceleration) for at least 30 minutes. This is followed by resistance exercises, diluted with two balance exercises. The total time is 20-30 minutes.
• Wednesday: rest.
• Thursday: Interval cardio load (acceleration, recovery, acceleration) for at least 30 minutes. Then exercises to work out the muscles of the press.
• Friday: Weighted exercises with two balance exercises. The total time is 20-30 minutes.
• Saturday: Monday program.
• Sunday: Tuesday program.

These are all seven points that we wanted to tell you about today. If you find the article useful, save it so as not to lose it, but rather share it with your friends.