How many of you want that?

We always want to know how to flatten our stomach (especially women) and get sexy looking lines.

Although spot reduction does not work (for those of you who don’t know what this is, the theory is that you burn fat around the muscles you are exercising, for example, you burn arm fat with a bicep curl and part fat lower leg with a calf raise, sadly this doesn’t work) there are things you can do to improve your stomach area.

Many people believe that the way to get a six pack is to sit down after sitting down. It takes about 250,000 sit-ups to burn a pound of fat, so it will take a long time with that approach!

Actually, the main way to trim your waistline and stomach fat is in the kitchen, but there are exercises you can do to give it that flat, athletic, and sexy look.

So here are the top five exercises for developing a well-chiseled midsection:

1 HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training

This is the biggest one for me. The amount of calories you burn doing HIIT compared to steady-state cardio is huge, plus you finish in half the time. This is an exercise method where you alternate between going at a high level of effort for short bursts and slowing down to a more moderate “rest” pace, for example, a 15-20 second burst followed by a 30 second rest. to 40 seconds, and then repeat. A typical session lasts 15 to 25 minutes, depending on your fitness level.

The good thing about HIIT training is that you not only burn calories during exercise, you burn them afterwards (for up to 48 hours), as it keeps your metabolism elevated. A study from the University of Laval shows that HIIT helps subjects burn nine times more fat than those who trained in a traditional way. Additionally, doing HIIT can help preserve the muscle mass you already have, which you tend to lose with lower intensity activities.

2 The table

This is my favorite abdominal exercise (I’m not crazy) and one of the ones I use the most with my clients. I think the plank is one of the most effective abdominal exercises. The plank helps to strengthen the abdominal muscles, but it also works all the core muscles, the back, and the hips.

It is a relatively simple exercise (to perform, but it hurts) that is all you do is lie face down on a mat resting on your forearms, with your palms on the floor. Push off the floor, rising on your toes and resting on your elbows. Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels. Tilt your pelvis and contract your abs to prevent your butt from lifting into the air or sinking in the middle.

If you haven’t done planks before, try holding on for 30 to 60 seconds, lower your knees, rest one minute, and repeat 2-3 times.

3 sit-ups on a bike or bike

This exercise is a great abdominal exercise to work your obliques (the side of your abs) and rectus abdominis (the long, flat muscles along the front sides of your abdomen – 6-pack serving).

Fully extend one leg while the other is bent, and touch the bent leg with the opposite elbow as if you were doing a twisting crunch. Then you repeat for the other side without resting (as if you were on a bicycle) or lowering your torso down so that the entire time you do it, your upper body is in a contracted position. It’s hard. Use as wide a range of motion as possible until you feel fatigued, then you can do the smallest movement.

4 abs with fitness ball

Fitness ball crunches should take pressure off the back and target the abs so well that the other muscles that usually come into play during a sit-up are left alone. Traditional crunches from the floor can cause back and neck discomfort and I never do them with my clients.

Lie down on the ball, placing it under your lower back. Cross your arms over your chest or tuck them behind your head. Contract your abs to lift your torso off the ball, pulling the bottom of your rib cage toward your hips. The idea is to roll the ball backwards while doing sit-ups so that your butt is closer to the ground, and then do the reverse in reverse. While snuggling, don’t let the ball roll. Lower your back, stretch your abs, and repeat 1-3 sets of 12-16 reps to start.

5 Hanging knee raise

The final exercise is a hanging knee raise, this is another one of my favorites and is a great exercise to work the lower abs.

The only problem is, you need a chin bar / Smith machine / Roman chair to perform them properly.

The hanging knee raise should be done slowly while hanging from a bar. Raise your knees to your waist, then lower them and repeat. You should never swing your legs in place, but rather control movement and tighten your abs throughout the full range of motion (ROM). The best way to do this is to keep your mind focused on your lower abs and make sure they are getting the job done. If you still can’t support your body weight, try this movement while lying on your back.

So there you have my top 5 exercises for a flat stomach.

By doing these exercises 2-3 times a week combined with a healthy and clean nutrition program, you are well on your way to that flat stomach.

Beware,

Jamie stedman