What Muscles Make Up Your Core
What many people dont realize is that the abs are made up of four major muscle groups: external obliques, internal obliques, rectus abdominis and transverse abdominis. And the best ab workouts target all of these areas.
The external obliques are the muscles on the sides of the upper part of your stomach, while the internal obliques are the muscles on the outer, lower part of your stomach. The rectus abdominis consists of a pair of muscles that start at the sternum and run down vertically. These are responsible for giving your core that six-pack look. Lastly, the transverse abdominis muscle runs from side to side, helping with balance. This muscle is directly under the belly button and is focused on heavily in Pilates.
I often get asked by clients: how do I tone my stomach? The answer is to work all of these areas. So skip the endless crunches, and try this well-rounded routine that hits all the muscle groups that make up your abdominal region.
Perfect Poses Reduce Paunch
Along with abdominal exercises, certain types of yoga poses and stretches can step up your saggy belly reduction workout routine. The plank and boat poses are an intense tummy workout.
For the plank pose, start on your elbows and knees and place your feet out behind you in a plank position so your body is parallel to the floor. Hold this position for as long as you can, breathing normally throughout and try to increase the amount of time each time you do this exercise.
Begin the boat pose by sitting on the floor with your feet stretched out in front of you. Slowly tip your upper body back while you raise your feet and legs off the floor. Stretch your arms toward your legs. Your ultimate aim is to make a V-shape with your torso and legs. You might feel a bit wobbly, but your abdominal muscles will tighten as they help keep you in place. Breathe normally as you stay in boat for up to one minute, and don’t worry about falling out of it. Keep trying until you can nail the pose.
Weighted Modified Russian Twist
a) Lie on your back with your feet on the floor and both hands holding the weight above your chest. Use your abs to raise your torso to a 45-degree angle with the floor.
b) Slowly twist your torso to the right side, keeping your arms straight and raised. Pause and then reverse the twist to repeat on the left side. Thats one rep.
You May Like: How To Lose Stomach Fat Easy And Fast
What Is The Quickest Way To Flatten Your Lower Stomach
The quickest way to flatten your lower stomach is by reducing any present fatty tissue and strengthening the abdominal muscles. Although its commonly thought that doing more sit-ups will flatten the stomach, the truth is you need to reduce the top layer of fat thats covering your abdominal muscles.
How To Create A Calorie Deficit
Creating a calorie deficit boils down to a simple math equation: Are you burning more calories than youre consuming on a daily basis? If you are, youre at a calorie deficit.
Burning 3,500 calories more than you consume is equal to 1 pound of fat, according to the Mayo Clinic.
For most people, losing more than 2.5 pounds of fat per week involves extreme calorie restriction and isnt recommended.
Also Check: How To Lose Weight In Your Stomach In 2 Weeks
Increase Protein And Fiber Intake
In order to lose weight, including from your lower belly, you should consume an adequate amount of fiber and protein.
Fiber has a wide range of benefits, including aiding weight loss. Some types of fiber slow the absorption of nutrients, allowing you to feel full longer, therefore consuming less calories throughout the day and helping achieve a deficit.
Men need between 30 and 38 grams of fiber per day, and women need between 21 and 25 grams per day.
Some good sources of fiber include: avocados, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans.
Protein is made up of amino acids and helps feed and repair our muscles, among other parts of our body. However, its where you are getting your protein that matters most.
Choose good sources of animal protein, like fish, poultry, eggs and low-fat dairy. Vegetables also provide ample amounts of protein look for dark, leafy greens like kale, spinach, broccoli and asparagus.
And dont forget quinoa, a grain that mimics the same amino acid profile as an animal protein. A good choice for vegetarians and vegans.
Lever Seated Leg Raise Crunch
The lever seated leg raise crunch works both the lower and upper abdominals by combining a crunch with a reverse crunch. Sit on the lever seated crunch machine, hook your legs under the pads and hold on to the handles. To perform the crunch, simultaneously flex forward pulling the handles down and lift up with hips. Return the start position and repeat for one to two sets of eight to 15 repetitions. Move slowly and with control to avoid using momentum and to prevent injury.
Don’t Miss: What Makes Your Stomach Flat
Taking Care Of Your Body
Embrace High Intensity Exercise
One way to target lower belly fat is to engage in high intensity exercise a couple times a week. But keep in mind that high intensity is a relative term and will be different from person to person. “The key is to create intervals for yourself so that you’re getting your heart rate up high several times during your 30- to 40-minute workout,” Pelc Graca says. “This could mean a HIIT workout, a jog to fast run interval workout, a slow walk to brisk walk interval workout, or any other exercise modality you prefer.”
Read Also: How Do They Drain Fluid From Your Stomach
Drinking To Flatten Your Stomach
Sit Up With Overhead Press
a) Lie down on your back. Bend your legs and place your feet firmly on the ground to stabilise your lower body. Hold a dumbbell with both hands.
b) Curl your upper body all the way up toward your knees. Exhale as you lift.
c) As you curl up, press the dumbbell out directly above you, keeping a soft bend in your elbows.
d) Slowly, lower yourself down, returning your arms and body to your starting point. Inhale as you lower.
Don’t Miss: How To Lose Your Stomach In 10 Days
Exercises That Will Really Target Your Lower Abs
Expert tips for strengthening those hard-to-reach muscles.
Take an informal poll at the gym about which body part is hardest to target, and youll probably get some strange looks. But youll also likely hear lower abs more than anything else.
So if you feel like all those crunches arent showing dividends at the lowest portion of your abdominals, youre not alone. Below, well explain why and recommend a few trainer-approved exercises that will get the job done.
There are four primary muscle groups in your core but only two main muscle groups in the abs: the rectus abdominis and transverse abdominis, says Aaptiv Trainer Kenta Seki.
He explains that the rectus abdominis is the top layer of the abs, so it is the most visible and generally the easiest to target.
The transverse abdominis, on the other hand, makes up the underlying abdominal muscles. According to Seki, it connects to a deeper part of the pelvis, so it takes more focus to engage.
Change Your Lifestyle And Combine Different Methods
Just doing one of the items on this list wont have a big effect on its own.
If you want good results, you need to combine different methods that have been shown to be effective.
Interestingly, many of these methods are things generally associated with healthy eating and an overall healthy lifestyle.
Therefore, changing your lifestyle for the long term is the key to losing your belly fat and keeping it off.
When you have healthy habits and eat real food, fat loss tends to follow as a natural side effect.
SUMMARY
Losing weight and keeping it off is difficult unless you permanently change your dietary habits and lifestyle.
There are no magic solutions to losing belly fat.
Weight loss always requires some effort, commitment, and perseverance on your behalf.
Successfully adopting some or all of the strategies and lifestyle goals discussed in this article will definitely help you lose the extra pounds around your waist.
Read Also: Should You Take Milk Of Magnesia On An Empty Stomach
Exercising To Strengthen Your Stomach
Fill Your Diet With Whole Foods
A great way to make this easy for yourself is to subscribe to the 80/20 rule when you’re grocery shopping, suggests NASM-certified trainer, Sarah Pelc Graca. “Before checking out at the grocery store, take a peek at your cartonly about 20% of the contents should be in a box,” she says. “For the most part, boxed foods like crackers, cookies, and frozen meals, are processed and include little nutrients and excess sugar. On the flip side, about 80% of your cart should include real foods, such as meat, vegetables, whole grains, and fruits.”
Also Check: How To Smooth Out Stomach After Liposuction
Keep In Mind That Hormones Play A Role
If you’re struggling to lose lower belly fat, underlying hormone imbalances could be playing a role, explains Maritza Worthington, a functional nutritionist who specializes in digestive and hormone health. “In my experience, the top two culprits behind stubborn belly fat have to do with either excess cortisol or estrogen dominance,” she says. “Typically hormone imbalance issues dont happen overnight, and are the result of insulin resistance, malnutrition, lack of exercise and a high stress lifestyle.”
Worthington shares a few pointers:
- Eat regularly and skip the fastingthe body actually stores more belly fat when skipping meals. “This could be because the body experiences higher cortisol/stress from starvation, and as a coping mechanism stores more belly fat , not knowing when the next meal will come,” she says.
- Focus on balanced meals and avoid eating protein or carbs alone. “Theres a reason why your body uses macronutrientsprotein, carbs, & fatsfor optimal fuel. And skipping one of these macronutrients can actually work against your metabolism.”
How To Get Rid Of Lower Belly Fat Female Workout
Muffin top. Belly pooch. Love handles. There are plenty of ways to describe extra belly fat, most of them with less-than-desirable nicknames. Everyone would love the secret of how to get rid of lower belly fat female especially.
Whether youve struggled to lose belly fat after having kids, have recently hit menopause, or life have simply gotten in the way, most of us have dealt with carrying extra weight around our middle before.
However, if you want to get rid of lower belly fat for good, its not enough to try a few sit-ups and call it a day.
The hard truth is: you cant spot reduce belly fat. If you want to lose fat, you have to lose it all over.
Getting rid of belly fat and sculpting the muscles underneath requires both changing your diet and ramping up your workouts. This article covers 9 helpful lifestyle and exercise tips to get rid of lower belly fat:
Also Check: How To Get Rid Of Your Stomach Fat Fast
Knee Tucks With Sliders
Place the balls of your feet on towels or sliders, and hold a high plank position. Keep your hands right underneath your shoulders and pull both knees in towards your chest, trying to avoid pushing with the hips and focusing on contracting your abs. Slowly extend back out into the high plank position and repeat for repetitions.
Best Stomach Exercises And Belly Exercises Without Equipment
Now, believe us when we say there’s no one-size-fits-all “stomach exercise” rulebook and anyone who tells you there is, is leading you up Nonsense Creek.
What there actually is, are multiple stomach exercises that work your core across various planes .
Try adding the following exercises onto the end of a lower-body workout or, if you’re after a core-based session, compile them into the stomach workout of your wildest dreams. Dealer’s choice.
You May Like: How To Lose Weight In Your Stomach Without Exercise
How To Build The Best Lower Ab Workout
The term “lower abs” is actually a misnomeryour rectus abdominis muscle, or abdominal wall, actually covers your entire midsection and connects to your pelvis. Still, women are constantly searching for the best lower ab exercises that will help flatten lower belly fat . PSA: No amount of lower-abs workouts will magically make your abs pop or offer the ultimate solution for how to get rid of lower belly flab.
However, these effective exercises target multiple abdominal muscles, so you’ll strengthen your entire midsectionincluding your lower abswith every rep.
Here’s a pro tip for getting the most out of these best lower ab exercises: Focusing on the activation of your core is the key to success with these moves . In fact, one study from Hull University found that people who mentally focused on their muscles and how they were moving experienced greater muscle activity, which can result in greater strength gains over time. We’ve included “mind your muscle” tips with every lower ab exercise to help you maximize the results of your low ab workout.
How it works: Do the prescribed number of sets and reps for each lower ab exercise consecutively, taking a 45- to 60-second rest between sets. Perform the full lower ab workout on 3 or 4 nonconsecutive days each week.
You’ll need: A mat or towel
Your Hormones Are Out Of Whack
Did you know hormones play a role in fat distribution? “A reduction in estrogen for women and testosterone for men, particularly as we age, can trigger the redistribution of fat to the stomach,” Clarissa explains.
Additionally, certain hormonal imbalances such as PCOS can increase the risk of insulin resistance which can lead to an increased production of fat cells. Eating a diet that is high in refined carbohydrates, sugars and alcohol can increase our insulin levels which promotes fat storage, increase the risk of fatty liver, all resulting in a higher incidence of weight gain around the stomach. If you are concerned about hormonal imbalances, book an appointment to speak to your GP.
Recommended Reading: How To Get Rid Of Stomach Flab Fast