Tummy fat is another problem area that can be very difficult to burn fat from. It can take a lot of hard work and continuous effort to get results and this applies if you are a man or woman. For men it may be that you want to get a lean and muscular tummy. For women you probably want to get a trim flat stomach so let's look at how you can go about it.
Contrary to what you might think it's not just about exercise - the diet is very important too. It doesn't matter how many tummy fat burning exercises you do
- you are less likely to see results if you are eating unhealthy fatty foods. Beneath that stomach are muscles waiting to come out but if your diet is poor they won't.
No you shouldn't avoid all fats as your body does need some fats for things such as hormone metabolism, healthy skin and hair and excessive loss of body heat. Instead, reduce your intake of saturated fats and consume more unsaturated fats.
Saturated fats are derived from animal sources and are found in foods such as full fat dairy products, eggs, lard and meat.
Unsaturated fats are derived from vegetable sources and contain essential fatty acids that your body cannot manufacture so need to be derived from food eg fish, avocado, non hydrogenated foods.
So make sure your fat intake is correct then you will be on your way to burning away that tummy fat.
EXERCISE
There is no getting away from it - you have to exercise to lose your tummy fat by directly working the tummy areas with abdominal crunches of some type. They can be quite difficult if you aren't used to them so here are a few suggestions that I find work.
Tip #1: Use a stomach trimmer exerciser - it looks like a cradle and you place it on the floor use them to rock your upper body back and forth. These units tend to take the strain off the back and allow you to hold the crunch in place and get a good burn without having to place the hands at the side or back of the head. Some also come attached with a calorie counter though I am unsure how effective and accurate they are.
Tip #2: Do abdominal crunches on the floor without equipment and do variations such as putting your feet on a chair seat or edge of the bed. You want to hit the abdominal area from different angles so they can't get used to one type of angle and thus don't respond.
Tip #3: If you go to the gym use an abdominal cruncher machine. You may find these feel unnatural when you use them but some people find them effective.
Tip #4: If you didn't get chance to do any tummy exercises all day then when you are in bed flat on your back raise your upper body slightly and tense, but be careful not to strain by trying to come up too high then lower back down. I find this helps to brings out definition in the stomach.
Tip #5: If you have love handles then these are quite difficult to get rid of. So target the oblique with specific exercises eg
Speed rotations: Stand holding a dumbbell with both hands in front of your abdominal area. Twist 90 degrees to the right then 180 degrees to the left. Keep your abs tight and move fast - 10 repetitions each side.
Side bends: stand upright with dumbbells in each hand by your sides and bend sideways first left then right. Maintain good posture and don't overdo it - shoot for 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps each side. However, good form is more important than number of repetitions.
Saxon side bends are also good. Hold a pair of lightweight dumbbells over your head elbows slightly bent then bend to your left side without twisting your upper body. Pause return to the upright position then repeat for the right side 6-10 reps each side.
Tip #6: I find that a good time to do any tummy exercise is in the morning but don't do a full workout and still do a workout sometime during the day Just say 15-20 good solid morning reps of the weight free exercises should suffice - I've seen good results for myself using this method.
Admittedly it is hard work but if you just persevere and at least do some workouts every day for a few minutes you will hopefuly see some results.
