How To Lose Belly Fat

In this step by step guide, I will reveal the tricks to How To Lose Belly Fat your very own – just in time for the summer!

A well-defined six-pack is one of the most sought after fitness goals but it’s not easy to obtain. Some exercisers never really get what they want despite performing endless sets of crunches and other similar abdominal exercises. It’s very hard to say exactly how long it will take you to develop this fitness holy of holies but if you follow this six-step plan, it should happen sooner rather than later. Remember though, your abs are just one muscle group and your ab training should be part of a well-designed and periodised training program that focuses on not just how you look but how you feel and function too…
Step one – get lean

Step One – How To Lose Belly Fat

Many people have well developed abs but any muscular detail is obscured by a thick layer of fat, this subcutaneous Fat and the deeper fat that causes a mans belly to protrude is called Visceral Fat. The only way to make your abs more visible is to get leaner and drop the surrounding layers of bodyfat, now for some guys not so much the girls, they can get fearful as they see themselves shrinking in size because they are losing fat and it can play with your mind a bit if your goal to add muscle, this is actually fat being dropped off the body and if you have some stored on your back or arms it can feel like your losing muscle your not its actually fat coming off all over the body, if you are not sure then you are best to get a DEXA Scan this best as this is very accurate at determining your body fat mass and muscle mass. This means dropping your body fat to 10% or below for men and 15% or below for women. This is best achieved with a reduced carbohydrate/calorie controlled diet and regular cardiovascular exercise and interval training plus building muscle, as outlined in point two below.

Good diets for fat loss include, cyclic ketogenic diets, the Slow Carb Diet, the Palaeolithic diet, any carb cycling diet and the Atkins diet. So long as you can stick with it and you don’t starve yourself (which can actually promote fat storage and not fat loss) almost any diet will work but make sure you choose ones that keep you healthy.

Step two – build some muscle

Rather than target your abs with lots of direct core exercises such as sit ups, you are better off trying to develop all of your muscles by performing regular strength training. Your abs bridge the gap between your arms and your legs so it makes sense that when your extremities get stronger, so will your abs. It’s not called the core for nothing after all!

Some direct ab work is okay but focusing on overhead pressing, squats, deadlifts etc. will place more load on your abs than any type of sit up ever will. Building bigger muscles throughout your body will elevate your metabolism and make sure you burn as much fat as you possible can so you reveal your six-pack abs all the sooner. Direct ab work is definitely important but do it at the end of your regular strength training workout as a finisher once the “real” work is done.

Step three – improve your posture

Standing up straight can make the difference between flat abs and a paunch belly. When you hunch forwards, your abs tend to bow outwards and even if you are lean enough to show off a six pack, it will look crumpled and ugly. Stand up straight, lift your chest, lengthen your neck and pull your shoulders back. This will flatten your stomach and make them look far more impressive even if you are not quite lean enough to reveal your six-pack.

Like most of us, you probably spend a long time sat down so it’s very important that you remedy this by strengthening the muscles on the back of your body and stretching those on the front – especially your hip flexors. This, as well as body position awareness and practice, is the key to better posture and flatter abs!

Step four – learn to brace

Bracing describes tensing your abdominals and other core muscles without actually moving your spine. Imagine you are about to be punched in the gut and you tighten up to protect yourself – that’s bracing! You should do this whenever you perform any strenuous exercise and also when you want your abs to look their best. Bracing is the core equivalent of raising your flexed arm to show off your biceps!
Practice bracing whenever you get the chance – it will help harden up your abs and also protect your back when you are lifting heavy weights.

Step five – forget about spot reduction

Many exercises make the mistake of performing a high volume of ab exercises in the hope that they will burn off fat from their midsections. Worse still, this is often done on a daily basis. Your abs are just another muscle group and just as you wouldn’t train your legs every day, nor should you train abs so frequently.

As a general rule, limit your repetitions to less than 20 and perform two to three sets of two to three exercises twice a week. This, plus the bracing described in point four, is all you need for well-developed abs.

Step six – work your abs from a variety of directions

When it comes to ab training, most people spend way too much time working on flexion or forward bending exercises and completely forget about the other functions of the midsection. Make sure you include lateral flexion (side bends) and rotation exercises to work your abs from a variety of directions to ensure optimal development. Remember though, all the ab work in the world won’t give you a six-pack if you don’t take care of business in the kitchen and the rest of your training. It is quite possible to have an amazing six-pack but never reveal it because it’s permanently covered in an ugly layer of fat.
So, now you know what you need to do to get your very own six-pack. All that is left now is for you to put these steps into action!

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