Lose Belly Fat - Six Pack Abs - Abdominal Exercises

The answer to the age-old question of "What is the best ab workout for losing stomach fat?" is...

None! Ab workouts alone don't create enough of a metabolic response in your body to create fat loss.

I've met countless people who asked me what the best types of exercises and workouts are for losing stubborn belly fat in order to bring out visible six pack abs. They are searching for some "miracle abdominal workout" that could get rid of their abdominal fat in no time.

The fact is... they are dealing with the problem in the completely wrong way! The truth is that you don't lose stomach fat by doing ab workouts.

It is a waste of time and effort if you focus on doing abdominal exercises and ab workouts in order to flatten your stomach and bring out 6-pack abs. Instead, you should be performing correct workout programs that will reduce and keep off your body fat for good.

What then are the best exercises for losing stomach fat? Full body exercises... such as various forms of squats, lunges, deadlifts, clean & presses, snatches, swings, presses and pulls, mountain climbers, sprinting, etc.

These types of full body exercises stimulate maximum metabolic response in your body and increase fat burning hormone levels, thus helping you to burn body fat in less time. In addition, a side effect of working out using mostly full body multi-joint combo exercises is that you indirectly work your entire midsection even though you are not specifically targeting the abs. Abdominal and core specific exercises should only form a small part of your workout program.

Bear in mind that nutrition is the key to losing belly fat and developing visible abs. If live on a diet of processed, high sugar and high trans fat foods, it will be impossible for you to lose belly fat no matter how hard you workout. Nutrition is without a doubt the "king of getting a six pack".

So let's clear this up for good...

Don't waste time on situps, crunches, leg raises, and money on all those worthless "ab gadgets" in your efforts to develop 6-pack abs. Instead focus on high intensity full body workouts using combination multi-joint exercises all strategically combined into highly effective fat loss workouts. Combined that with a clean diet full of natural unprocessed wholesome foods and minimal trans fat, and those elusive six-pack abdominals will be yours in no time!

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Get a copy of the FREE Abdominal Training Secrets report that reveals the 5 best abdominal exercises for developing ripped or six pack abs at www.shedthefat.com/ab-report

You'll also learn what abdominal exercises are dangerous and ineffective, the truths about ab gadgets and the one piece of training equipment that makes your ab workouts more effective.

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There are so many fad diets for weight loss on the market that consumers are confused about which one to follow. Most of these diets tend to limit the consumption of a particular macronutrient (protein, carbs or fat) or food group. However, your body needs all macronutrients to function efficiently. Every fad diet claims to be "the" most effective for fat loss and yet, none seems agree with each other on the best way to eat for fat loss and overall good health.

The truth is you don't need to follow any of the extreme diets such as low carb, low fat, high protein, cabbage soup, etc, in order to lose belly fat for visible six pack abs.

While people may experienced initial weight loss with these diets, they typically lose water and lean muscle, which will sabotage their metabolism. As a result, they gain body fat back in the long run.

In view of the confusion, eating a balanced, natural and wholesome diet is the way to healthy fat loss and overall well-being. Your body needs protein, fats, carbs, vitamins and minerals to function efficiently. By eating natural and unprocessed foods, you don't crave for junk or processed foods.

Here are 4 six pack abs diet and nutrition tips for losing belly fat and having visible abs...

1. Consume sufficient lean protein in your daily diet. Protein has the highest thermic effect (calories burned from digestion) compared to carbs and fats. It is recommended to include a portion of protein with each meal, to help to moderate blood sugar response to ingested carbs and provide satiety. In addition, protein is essential for building and maintaining lean muscle. The amount of lean muscle you have is one of the determinants of your metabolic rate.

2. Your carbohydrate intake should consist of high fiber sources like vegetables, fruits and whole unrefined grains. Fiber satisfies your hunger for longer period of time, gives you steady energy levels and reduce cravings. Refined carbs must be avoided as they trigger higher insulin levels and fluctuating blood sugar levels. Thus, you crave for more carbs and this makes it more difficult to lose body fat. Look for carbohydrate sources that have at least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total carbs.

3. Eating the right fat can make you lean! Healthy dietary fats are essential for optimal hormone production and balance, muscle building and fat burning. Good sources of healthy dietary fats include avocados, fish, seeds, nuts and olive oil. Avoid man-made, processed, chemically altered fats that are found in most processed foods. When these damaged fats form part of your cell membranes, they impair cellular function and cause degenerative diseases. These unhealthy fats are found in hydrogenated oils, refined oils and homogenized milk fat.

4. The following 2 evil substances are present in huge quantities in our food supply:

- high fructose corn syrup (in sweetened products such as sodas, fruit juices, sweetened beverages, cakes, cookies, salad dressings and ketchup)

- trans fat (hydrogenated oils, margarine and shortening found in most processed foods)

AVOID them as much as possible. Both highly processed substances promote fat storage and cause other health problems. By choosing wholesome, natural foods and avoiding processed foods, you can simply eliminate these 2 evil substances from your diet.

By following these 4 six pack abs diet and nutrition tips, you'll be able to gain control over your appetite, blood sugar levels, hormone levels, etc. Eventually, you will gain control over how lean you want to get and be showing off those six pack abs in no time!

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Do you spend hours doing crunches or sit ups and yet, you are not getting ripped or six pack abs? Chances are you've been doing it all wrong!

It's a common mistake in most people who want visible abs to do abdominal exercise only. Sure, you develop abdominal muscle but it's only hidden under a layer of fat. In fact, you may find your ab getting bigger as a result of the increased muscle mass.

If you want visible abs, your focus should be on reducing excess body fat.

Low body fat = ripped abs

You achieve low body fat by burning more calories than you consume.

Here are 4 tips for losing belly fat effectively and permanently.

1. Interval training

Research has shown that interval training is more superior to slow, steady cardio for fat loss. Your metabolism remains elevated post workout, thus resulting in the after burn effect. Effectively, you continue to burn calories even after an interval workout but not after a long, steady cardio workout.

Also, if you don't have long hours to spare in the gym, interval workouts enable you to achieve the most fat loss in the least amount of time. Some examples of interval workouts are wind sprints, hill sprints, swimming sprints and speed rope jumping. You can also do intervals on a treadmill, stationary bicycle, stairclimber, rower and elliptical machines.

2. Nutrition

Proper nutrition is the key to fat loss. No matter how much or hard you train, you'll never get visible abs if you live on crisps, sodas, fast food, cookies and other crap. Don't fall for any of the low carb, low fat, high protein and other fad diets. Instead, eat a healthy and well balanced diet that includes various food groups - carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals.

Eat 5-6 small meals a day to keep your energy levels stable. Choose wholesome, natural foods, preferably organic, and avoid processed foods. Avoid refined and simple carbs that contain white flour and white sugar. Your main sources of carbohydrates are fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Include a source of high quality, lean protein with every meal. There are several benefits to consuming lean protein. Your body burns more calories from digesting protein than carbs or fats. Protein keeps hunger at bay and gives you a feeling of satiety. It is also necessary for building lean muscle that controls your metabolism and burns calories.

Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and to speed up fat loss.

Consume healthy fats from avocado, flax seed (or flax oil), nuts, seeds, fish (or fish oil), etc. Essential fatty acids help to regulate appetite and burn fat.

3. Resistance training

Resistance training not only sculpts your body but is important for building muscles. Like interval training, it raises your post workout metabolism so your body continues to burn calories even when you are doing nothing.

Aim for low rep resistance training, i.e. 8 reps per exercise, as it has been shown to boost metabolism after the workout.

If your goal is to burn fat, don't isolate your body parts by training certain muscle groups using single-joint movements. Isolation exercises such as leg extension, bicep curl and tricep kickback burn little body fat. Shift your focus from single-joint to multi-joint muscle movements such as squats, lunges, split squats, pushups, chinups, rows, step ups and deadlifts. These are full body movements that work many muscles at one time, burn more calories during each workout and increase your metabolism post workout.

4. Reduce stress

Stress has been associated with belly fat. In stressful situations, your body releases a stress hormone called cortisol. Excess cortisol production leads to build up of belly fat. A fat belly is more than ugly looking. Accumulated fat in the abdomen increases your risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Be aware of your stress level and learn to manage it through yoga, meditation, qi gong, tai chi and other stress reduction techniques. The truth is there's no quick fix for losing belly fat. Forget about ab gadgets, diets or magic pills that promise to give you lean abs. They are nothing but scams.

The good news is that you can attain a set of lean or six pack abs through a healthy diet plan and effective training program that promote fat loss.

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Interval training is the most effective exercise in maximizing your metabolism, burning body fat and giving you a lean shape.

An interval is a brief period of exercise performed at a given intensity for a specific length of time. There is a short rest or lighter activity in between intervals. Although there are no rigid rules on the length and intensity of the interval, varying these two variables can change the way your body works and reacts to exercise.

Do not sacrifice the quality of rest between intervals as this will only reduce the benefits. You must give up the mindset of conventional cardio training in order to succeed with interval training.

Irrespective of what level you begin with interval training, be aware that the high intensity nature of the workout can cause muscle soreness and your legs may feel like jelly.

Nevertheless, interval training is the best cardio workout for losing body fat. Most people emphasize on working out for long hours, when shorter and more intense intervals are more efficient and effective.

Another benefit of intervals is that the body continues to burn calories and fat even after the training session. You won't get this benefit from long and steady cardio workout.

Canadian researchers discovered that interval training was more effective for fat loss when they compared interval training and long, slow cardio training.

Here are some examples of interval training programs which can be used 3 to 5 times per week to lose body fat.

Begin with this beginner program:

Warm-up for 5-minutes. Exercise for 30 seconds at a hard pace (8/10 level of effort - this should be slightly harder than the normal cardio pace). Follow that with "active rest" for 90 seconds by exercising at a slow pace (3/10 level of effort). Repeat for a total of 3-8 intervals. Finish with 15 minutes of very low intensity (3/10) exercise for cool-down.

As you become familiar with intervals, move on to the advanced program:

Warm-up for 5 minutes. Exercise for 30 seconds at a 9/10 level of effort. Follow that with "active rest" for 60 seconds by exercising at a 3/10 level of effort. Repeat for a total of 4-10 intervals. Finish with 5 minutes of very low intensity exercise (3/10) for a cool-down.
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You are eating right and exercising 5-6 days per week. Somehow, you don't seem to be losing belly fat.

Do you know that stress and lack of sleep can hamper your efforts to lose belly fat or build six pack abs?

Stress and Belly Fat

Stress is a part of everyday lives.

It causes some people to lose appetite while others crave to eat more. When you are stressed or threatened, your body releases hormones that tell you to fight or flee. Unfortunately, many people tend to be a victim of their circumstances and choose not to take action.

Since your body has no clue if you fought or fled the situation, it replenishes nutritional stores depleted from the energy expended on stress - which creates hunger craving.

Do you find yourself eating cakes, chocolate and sweets when you are stressed? Not surprising when the body's preferred source of fuel during stressful situation is sugar - which is also the worst culprit for causing fat storage.

Eating when you are stressed is also known as comfort eating. You may feel better and calmer at the time. But if you let this habit persists, eating becomes automatic whenever you are under stress. You end up in a deadly cycle of more stress and worries as a result of additional pounds gained from comfort eating.

What To Do With Stress

Individuals deal with stress in their own ways. Here are some actions you can take to manage stress.

1. Surround yourself with positive people.
2. Exercise regularly.
3. Aim to sleep 8 hours every night.
4. Talk to someone who may be able to help or advise you.
5. Take a vacation.
6. Realise that some things in life are beyond your control.

Never blame stress for making you fat. You have a choice NOT to give in to eating comfort foods. Don't let stress control you.

Sleep and Belly Fat

There is a positive relationship between the amount of sleep you get and level of belly fat. Medical evidence proves that lack of sleep is related to obesity.

How Lack Of Sleep Causes Belly Fat

If you are sleeping 5 hours (instead of the recommended eight hours) a night, then you have 3 waking hours to consume calories which can easily add up. By sleeping the recommended number of hours, you'll be surprised how much lesser calories you consume. For those of you who are sleeping less than 8 hours per night, just get more sleep. You'll be surprised how you lose belly fat faster.

When you are not sleeping enough, your body releases a stomach hormone called grehlin which increases your appetite. Lack of sleep also reduces leptin in your body, which decreases appetite and tells your brain that you are full so you stop eating.

How To Maximize Quality Of Sleep

1. Sleep before midnight. Maximizing nighttime sleeping hours enhances sleep quality.

2. Before going to bed, spend some time reading to help you to relax.

3. Avoid consuming stimulants like tea, coffee and caffeinated soft drinks in the evening.

4. Aim to get 8 hours of sleep every night.

5. Exercise regularly. Train hard in your workout and you'll sleep like a baby!

6. If you have to make up for any lost sleep, take 20-minute power naps whenever needed.

7. Turn off the T.V. several hours before bedtime.

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