Abdominal exercises

1. Switch to Pilates

An exercise called “The Hundred” will help to strengthen the oblique muscles of the abdomen – the most popular places for dislocation of fat. Its main advantage is the simultaneous work of various muscle groups, primarily in the waist area. Sit on the mat with your legs apart in a V (buttocks are the base of the letter). Stretch your arms along your legs, parallel to the floor. Raise and lower your arms 100 times, inhaling and exhaling every fifth count.

2. Watch your shoulders and lower back

Lie on your back with your knees bent, while your lower back should be firmly pressed to the floor, and your shoulders should be raised. The exercise consists in either tightening the abs, as if you are protecting yourself from a blow to the stomach, then relaxing it for a few seconds.

3. Play ball

The use of a ball (placed under the lower back) in press exercises gives a quick and lasting result – because in this case both the abdominal muscles and the back muscles work, which keep your proud posture. “However, if you have recently started to pump the abs, you should not rush with the ball – without proper preparation, you can damage your vertebral discs,” warns fitness specialist Dr. Stuart McGill, author of Newest Back Exercises. First, you need to prepare the muscles for working with the ball: do twists while lying on your back, and bends, in which you need to strive to reach the opposite knee with your shoulder and stay in this position for 2-3 counts. Start with five, gradually increasing the number to 10 sets on each side. Doing the exercise three times a week for three weeks, reach 10 counts and 20 sets, and then just go to the ball.

4. Increase the weight, not the number of approaches

Here, the principle is the same as in biceps build-up: you don’t need 500 reps to get a firm and toned belly – instead, try using 1,5-2 kg weights. Fasten them on your chest or head and do just one approach of eight “twists” (raise your legs and torso at the same time, with your knees to the right and your torso to the left), gradually increasing the number of repetitions to 15. Later, you can increase the number of approaches to 3 -4.

5. Slow down the pace

The body of your dreams is more likely to become a reality if instead of 20 fast reps of any exercise, you do 10 slow ones. “Move smoothly: two counts up, two counts down. This will allow you to target the load, effectively stimulating and strengthening the muscles, ”advises Rodney Korn, sports medicine specialist. The fact is that the faster you move, the more likely it is to substitute muscle work by inertia. When done correctly, the muscles should fatigue around the fifteenth repetition.

6. Raise your hand

The main muscle group gets a good load when you train on uneven ground – for example, balancing on one leg or on a swinging board. In this position, your center of gravity will constantly shift, and the load on the main muscles will increase. The same effect can be achieved if, during the exercise on the press, you alternately raise your arms – this provokes an imbalance and, as a result, gives an additional load on the muscles of the abdomen and back.

7. Don’t forget about cardio.

If you are in urgent need of a steel abs, half an hour of cardio will be more effective than the same amount of time spent on inclines. “When you want to quickly get rid of the fat layer behind which the muscles are hidden, you can’t get off with abdominal exercises alone,” confirms Len Kravitz, professor of physiology at the University of New Mexico. Bending and twisting burns 2 to 6 calories per minute, and cardio burns 10 to 12 calories.

8. Have lunch at a Chinese restaurant

Oh yeah, the wholemeal turkey breast diet sandwich is good for everyone! In addition, which contains a maximum of 4 grams of fiber … Better in a Chinese restaurant order an additional serving of broccoli and brown rice, which contains about 10 grams of fiber. And the fact that the Chinese have everything salty, do not bother you. “The theory that sodium’s ability to retain water in the body may be affecting your waistline is a myth,” says Liz Applegate, head of the Department of Sports Nutrition at the University of California.

9. Return the sugar to the house

Most “sugar-free” sweets are sweetened with syrups that contain alcohol. In order not to provoke an attack of flatulence at the most inopportune moment, avoid foods that contain ingredients with a name ending in “-ol”: sorbitol, lactitol, maltitol. In extreme cases, prefer sucralose and aspartame, which behave a little more decently in the stomach. And remember that many sweeteners are no less high in calories than refined sugar, so it’s better to afford a little sugar than a kilogram of harmful blendes.

10. Drink mineral water

At least temporarily “hang up” with alcohol. If only because the calories from alcohol tend to be deposited in the abdomen. Just do the math: three juice martinis a week equals 2300 calories a month, or an additional 3,5 kg of weight per year. Mineral water remains the lowest-calorie soft drink.