It’s not too late to get your abs by summer. In fact, it’s perfect timing. You could be shopping for a beachwear that doesn’t cover you from head to toe as soon as the summer wear arrives. The key to working on your abs is not just focusing on the abs, but the whole body. Some people actually have rippling abs, but you can’t tell it under the layer of fat. You have to work on total body conditioning and shed any extra pounds that threaten to cover that six pack.
Include all types of exercises to burn calories.
Whether it’s strength training, aerobics or even yoga it’s all good. Stretching, lifting and running hard will help burn the calories and get you in top physical shape. Focusing on specific muscle groups, like the abs, should be part of the workout too. High intensity interval training and core training not only burn calories, you can set up exercises to boost building the abs. Total body training doesn’t focus on just one muscle group in the abdominal area, but all the abdominal muscles. That’s what you need to get the look you want.
Make your workout more fun.
There’s a lot of fun activities you can do that help build abs. While bicycling works the legs, it also works the abs. Boxing is fun and a break from traditional gym workouts. Training for it can be the perfect way to build the muscles you want and the actual boxing can reinforce that muscle building. After all, have you ever seen a good boxer with a beer belly? I doubt that you have. Grab a hula hoop or go roller blading for a fun activity that works toward a flatter abdomen.
Eat healthy.
Eating healthy isn’t dieting. Dieting has an expiration date, either when you cheat or when you succeed. Then you go back to old eating habits that put on the weight in the first place. Before you know it, those pesky pounds have come home to roost. Eating healthy means making lifestyle changes and learning to choose your food more wisely. It might be as simple as substituting brown rice for white to save a few calories. Abs aren’t sexy if they’re covered by a layer of fat.
- Practice tucking your tummy in when you’re sitting and improve your posture at the same time. Sit up straight and pull your stomach in as hard as you can. Release it just enough so you can breathe comfortably and hold. You can do this throughout the day.
- Make sure you have adequate hydration. Too often dehydration disguises itself as hunger. That means you’ll be eating without being hungry. Adequate hydration gives you energy. Keep a bottle of water with you and sip throughout the day.
- Get plenty of fiber in your diet. Low fiber can clog you up and leave you constipated and bloated. You also need adequate fluids to help prevent that from occuring.
- Carbohydrate cycling is one way of eating that can help shed pounds and is has a easy technique. Eat the same amount of fat and protein all week, but alternate high carb and low carb days.