Abs or Flab?

How many of us want 6-pack abs? Well, unless you are 20 years old, the likelihood that having a 6-pack is your sole focus for your workouts, is not high. Many of us do want strong, firm, toned abs though. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just take a pill every day and burn fat from our mid-section? Well, the reality is that it is a lot more complicated than that. A lot depends on your activity levels, as well as targeted exercises, your diet, and your stress levels. Ok, so it is hopeless, I give up! No,don’t give up!. It is good to remember that the bottom line in all of this is to be healthy!Excess fat around the mid-section is a known risk factor for heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes, among ohter health problems. Without getting too scientific here, I want to make a few suggestions.  First of all, focus on the big picture, which, as I said previously, is to be healthy. Second, develop a good solid abdominal routine that is varied and core-strength based. This doesn’t necessariy mean doing 100 crunches/day. Third, take a look at your diet and stress levels.

Here are two abdominal exercises that are varied and excellent for developing lean and strong abs.

Plank
Plank

1. Plank–This is such a great exercise for overall core strength. There are many modifications and variations to try. Planks can be done on forearms or hands/ knees or feet, from the fitness ball, TRX, and much more.

criss cross
Criss-cross

2. Pilates Criss-Cross–This exercise is about “lengthening” vs. just crunching and twisting. You wan to make sure and flatten your stomache when exhaling and rotating vs. letting it pooch out.

Diet is a huge player in how our bodies store fat. Eating a diet with an abundance of lean proteins, healthy fats, and low-glycemic carbs, including fresh veggies, vs. a diet high in processed carbs, makes a giant difference in how our bodies store and release fat. A lot of people have great success changing their diets by doing the 5-day sugar detox, called RESET (I can help you with this). Eliminating cravings for processed carbs is a major step in the right direction.

Stress increases cortisol levels, among other stress hormones, which also lead to fat storage. The “fight or flight” response is so primal in our systems that we are pre-programmed to store fat in response to high stress hormonel levels. How many of you live in a constant state of sress? A lot of it is actually self-induced by packing our schedules too full and always being on the go, but a lot of it is also due to other factors that are just part of life, such as raising kids, work, financial stress, etc. There are many ways to reduce stress levels though, and that is another whole topic.

Many more factors can influence your fat storage, but these are the most obvious ones that you really can do something about right now!