It seems that everyone wants to have flat abs, and it is possible to have the body shape you desire. The modern lifestyle has been largely responsible for our flabby bellies, but the good news is that we can do something about it. The best workout for flat abs can be done at home, by making some changes to your lifestyle and eating habits.
In the Western world, we eat too much, and we eat too much of the wrong foods. To get rid of belly fat and achieve flat abs we need to burn more calories than we eat. This means – eat less and/or move more. The best way to burn calories and therefore fat, is through activity.
The first step in your workout for flat abs is to control what you eat. Eat five to six smaller meals each day to keep your metabolism up and prevent hunger pangs. Eat lots of lean protein, as it is the building block of muscle. Good sources of protein are skinless chicken, fish, dried beans and lentils, nuts and non-fat dairy products.
You need a balanced diet of protein, carbohydrate and fat, so eat vegetables, fruit, wholegrain cereals and breads to get your carbs, and nuts for the good fats. You need a minimum 8 glasses of water a day, sufficient sleep and rest and to stay away from fast food and anything that is overly processed.
The next stage of your workout is to get moving; do 30 minutes of something active every day, with 5 days being a cardio workout. In a cardio session you aim to get your heart rate and breathing rate higher than normal and sustain it for 20 minutes. The remainder of the session is a warm up and a cool down – necessary to avoid injury. You can walk, jog, swim or cycle; whatever you like to get you puffing a bit. You will be burning fat, building muscle, increasing your mobility and flexibility and you will start to feel great!
Strength training and specific abs exercises are among the best workout for flat abs. Strength training focusing on muscles in the torso, including the abdominals, will strengthen the core, improve coordination and balance and enable you to perform more difficult abs exercises. Always warm up before strength training, with some light cardio and stretches, and do the same to cool down afterwards.
Gyms have a wide range of weight training machines, but you can do strength exercises at home, using your own body weight as the resistance to the muscle action. Good exercises include the plank and side plank and oblique crunches. If you go online, you will find many sites that give specific abs strength exercises that you can do at home as part of your best workout for flat abs, and avoid the expensive gym fees.
Tags: Bellies, Good Fats, Strength Training, Muscle building
