flat stomach

How to get a flat stomach - Ok firstly the idea of localised fat loss is a myth - during exercise fat is burned as fuel from all areas of the body and while working your abdominal muscles will help them to develop, but if there is a layer of fat obscuring these new muscles neither you or anyone else will be able to see them. Therefore to achieve your goa,l any abdominal exercise needs to be combined with a well balanced and nutritious diet to see the fruits of your labour. In addition cardiovascular exercise will speed up this process and help to burn extra fat.

By far the best exercise to build abdominal muscle and toning the abdominal wall is the crunch - this is actually the main stomach exercise performed by athletes and models.

The Crunch

• Lie on you back.
• Place your feet on the floor as close to your bottom as possible and place your knees together.
• Rest your hands across you chest and relax the neck.
• Slowly raise your shoulders off the floor by contracting only the abdominal muscles.
• Don't come up too high - your lower back should always remain on the floor.
• Hold that position for a count of 1 and breath out forcefully.
• Slowly relax the stomach muscles and allow your shoulders to return to the floor.
• Repeat 10 - 12 times, rest for 60 seconds then repeat.

The amount of crunches you can do, as with all exercises, varies from person to person... its safest to start off with a relatively low number as to avoid strain and build up to more over time.

Further Exercises

The Plank

• Lie flat on your stomach.
• Place your hands at either side of your chest - as if ready to perform a press up - although your should tuck your elbows into your sides.
• Keeping your back perfectly flat, push yourself up onto your knees - so that your upper body is off the floor, with your hands and knees acting as support.
• Keeping your back flat, pull in your tummy button as high as possible - as if to suck it in close to the spine.
• Aim to maintain a normal breathing pattern and hold this position for 10 - 60 seconds.
• Rest, lie flat then repeat twice.

Toe Touch

• Lie on you back.
• Raise your arms and legs so they are perpendicular with your body.
• Slowly curl your torso up and forward, raising your hands as close to your toes as possible
• Contract your abs and then reverse direction, returning to the starting position.
• Repeat 10 - 12 times, rest for 60 seconds then repeat.

Reverse Curl

• Lie on you back.
• Place your hands at sides and bend your knees.
raise your butt as high as possible while keeping your upper back pressed to the floor.
• Contract your abdominals and then reverse direction, returning to the starting position.
• Repeat 10 - 12 times, rest for 60 seconds then repeat.

Twisting Crunch

• Lie on you back.
• Bend your knees so your thighs are perpendicular to the ground and fold arms across your chest.
• Slowly raise your shoulders up and forward toward your chest, twisting your body to the right.
• Feel a contraction in your abdominal muscles and then slowly reverse direction, returning to the start position.
• Repeat movement but this time twist to the left.
• Repeat 10 - 12 times, rest for 60 seconds then repeat.