As with any physical transformation, your mind has to be determined to succeed at becoming healthier. Getting healthy is more than just looking good on the outside. It's a state of mind and a lifestyle. Always know in the back of your mind no matter how old you are and how many times you've failed at losing weight and reversing your rubber fattoross dunkin donuts looking, firestone big fat momma jomma potato johnson potbelly, you can get that midsection back in shape and possibly beautiful abs. It's all in your determination to succeed.
Most people became depressed in life and indulged in emotional eating at one time or another. We all know emotional eating leads to excessive weight gain. Especially in the midsection. The bad thing about unhealthy weight in your midsection is it naturally occurs with age. Do you have to get a potbelly as you age or indulge in emotional eating? No. Even if you're 50 years old and hitting 400 pounds, you can reverse it and get a flat stomach. If you excessively consume beer or liquor, it's time to put that down and make some healthy changes. Getting a flat stomach after letting the alcohol go is challenging. Always remember it's your mindset and long-term vision that'll virtually predict your success to getting a flat stomach again.
The first step towards getting a flat stomach and maintaining it in longevity is to change your diet. The second step towards achieving a flat stomach is to exercise your midsection first thing in the morning on an empty stomach at least twice weekly. That is, if you can handle an ab workout without food in your stomach. Some people can't. It's okay if you feel you can't tolerate "empty stomach workouts." That's something you have to gradually grow into.
Getting down to the nitty-gritty:
1. Hanging leg raises - Hanging leg raises allow you to use your body weight to exercise your lower abdomen. It's a good practice to start your ab workouts on an empty stomach and preferably exercising your lower abs first, simply because this is the most difficult section. A majority of people prefer exercising their upper abs first or just exercising their upper midsection without working the lower ab area. Achieving a flat stomach entails working upper + lower abdomen. Hanging leg raises will not only help you achieve a flat stomach, but will also help reduce oblique fat. Exercising your lower abdomen first by performing hanging leg raises will also help eliminate that lower pouch men and women walk around with. Lower ab exercises also help womn reduce the "mommy pouch."
If you only perform hanging leg raises as a means of working your lower abdomen and don't diversify your lower ab workouts to exercise your lower abs in different styles, you will still notice shrinkage in your waistline in as little as six weeks. Hanging leg raises also help reduce lower back pain for people who have excess fat in their stomachs. If you grab a pair of abdominal straps from a store such as Walmart.com or DicksSportingGoods.com, you might be able to get them online for less than $20. Ab straps are good for performing hanging leg raises and reducing fat on your obliques, resulting in a smaller waistline and increasing your probability of fitting in those skinny jeans you once wore moons ago.
2. Old school ab crunches - Once again, you're using natural body weight to build muscle in your midsection. If you haven't worked out in quite a while, exercising with your own body weight is a great way to build up tolerance towards performing exercises with metal weight. Old school ab crunches are always effective in building your upper abs. If you find it challenging in the beginning to exercise your abs whether it's your lower or upper midsection, set a positive goal in your mind to perform your first 2 to 3 sets of at least 5 to 7 reps per set. The first set will definitely be painful and you may not want to do the 2nd or 3rd set. Deal with the pain, and take a few minutes rest. This is the time of mental turbulence when your mind is getting used to working out again.
As you progress in your ab workouts, your tolerance will increase and you'll find your stomach exercises becoming easier. Be sure to drink lots of water before, during, and after your stomach workouts. The reason for doing so is so your stomach muscles don't cramp up later in the day. If you can perform 5 to 7 reps of ab crunches in your upper midsection for 2 to 3 sets, you've achieved something. And yes, this will help you achieve a flat stomach, though you feel you haven't done much. The key to success in getting a flat stomach is not just cardio, diet, and exercise, but staying the course with exercising your stomach "as mentioned" 2 to 3 times weekly.
3. Ab crunches kneeling with tricep rope - Before performing ab exercises kneeling down at a tricep machine, grab yourself a floor mat that's friendly on your knees. When you do ab exercises kneeling down with the tricep rope, it helps build your midsection a tidbit faster. It'll definitely add muscle mass to your abs, if you do your kneeled and exercises correctly with the tricep rope. Performing two sets of this specific exercise is good for building mass in your abdominals and increasing visibility of upper ab muscles in as little as six weeks. Before performing this specific exercise, it's a good practice "if you must eat something in the morning before doing your ab workout" to consume one banana.
The reason for consuming a banana before planning to do this kind of ab exercise is to have potassium in your bloodstream to reduce abdominal muscle cramping. This specific exercise may possibly stimulate mild upper ab cramping in the first two sets of kneeled abdominal crunch exercises. You'll notice your kneeled ab crunch exercises getting easier to perform once your body gets used to doing this. When exercising your midsection, be sure to change up all ab exercises, so you keep your body guessing and getting closer to achieving your goal of getting a flat stomach.
Post Ab Workout Cardio
This is the number one thing you most likely don't want to do after completing your ab workout. The beauty of doing cardio after ab exercises is getting closer to a "defined muscular midsection." If you're consistently doing the transformation work of eating right, working your abs 2 to 3 times weekly, and performing at least 10 to 20 min. of post abdominal workout cardio, you'll definitely feel a difference mentally and physically. You'll also notice how much better you fit in your clothes. The size 42 or 44 pants you probably wear now will start feeling looser possibly in as little as six weeks after starting your "flat stomach exercises."
Nonstop Transformation
The key to success in getting a flat stomach is never quitting even on days you don't exercise, eat right, skip cardio, or slip and have a drink. Whether your goal is to have a flat stomach to feel better about your physique or whatever reason, it can be achieved no matter how many times you fell down in the past. Keep going no matter what and believe in your self. Achieving a flat stomach may inspire you to go the extra mile to accomplish more in life.