10 Tips to Blast the Belly Fat and Get a Six-Pack, Part 2
Last week I shared some ideas on how you can get a six-pack and blast the belly fat. Here I share a few more ideas for you to incorporate into your lifestyle.
6) WORKOUT 5-6 DAYS A WEEK
Sorry, no shortcuts here. Plan your workouts out and schedule them into your day like it’s that really important conference call with that really big client. This can be 3x a week of strength training and two days a week of interval training. Getting that heart rate up 5-6 days a week is imperative to see the changes you want to see in your body. When strength training, bigger movements working the entire body are the most effective way to burn the most calories.
To train your abdominals safely and effectively you must know the basic movement patterns of your abs and train them within all sub-categories:
• Hip Flexion (lower abs. e.g. Plank, hanging leg raises, flat bench lying leg raise)
• Trunk Flexion (upper abs. e.g. supine plank, jackknives, pikes)
• Rotation (obliques. e.g. Side chops, side planks, Russian twists)
• Lateral Flexion (obliques. e.g. lateral med ball twists, windmills)
Again, when strength training, focus on the bigger movements like pull-ups, pushups, squats and lunges because you’re activating your entire body, getting the heart rate up highest and forcing your core to stabilize all in one. When you do choose to isolate the core, break it down into a couple days and choose from the sub-categories above.
What about Cardio? Intervals are the way to go. They are most effective for fat loss and they do not compromise lean muscle mass.
There is a reason over half the population in America is overweight! If it were easy, we’d all look like rock stars. Get your mind right. Make it happen! I’m here to help you design a design a program that will work for you.
7) ANNOUNCE your Goals!
Oh you want to lose 10% body fat? Telling people what your goals are will increase your odds of sticking to your plan. Post it, take a picture of it, tell your friends, update your status, get a bet going at work, whatever it takes!
The more accountable you are, the less likely you’ll go for that ice cream at 10PM when no one is looking. Be realistic with yourself. Set small goals that you know you can accomplish. Keep in mind there is no way to target fat loss in any one area of your body. Just like your body deposits fat in many different places, it burns fat in your entire body, not just from your abs or your thighs.
8) DRINK MORE WATER
I tell my clients to drink anywhere from 2.5-3 liters of water a day. To figure out how much you need specifically, take half your bodyweight in pounds and that’s how many ounces of water you need to drink. So a 150lb person would need to drink a minimum of 2.2 liters a day. It sounds like an absurd amount of water, but remember you get water from the food you eat. You can also drink decaf green tea to make up some of the quota.
9) Get more ZZZ’s
Easier said than done, I know. Try to have a plan that all electronic devices go off by 10PM. The TV, computer and music are all shut down by 10PM and you are physically in bed by 1030/11PM. The kids are in bed, emails are answered, and everything is prepped for the morning. Sitting in front of a computer screen can keep the mind active for 30 minutes or so afterwards. Studies have shown that there is a direct link between sleep and the peptides that regulate appetite. Ghrelin stimulates hunger and leptin signals satiety to the brain and suppresses appetite. When sleep time is decreased, leptin decreases which causes elevations in ghrelin. Beauty sleep has suddenly taken on a whole new meaning!
10. MEDITATE
I began meditating in 2012 and within three months my friends and family started to notice a dramatic difference in my demeanor. Here are a few ways meditation can change your life (and how it has changed mine):
• Improved concentration
• Decrease in food cravings (In my case, it was sugar.)
• Improves sleep
• Reduced stress levels that can translate to weight loss. Less cortisol levels= less body fat!
• Being more appreciative
• Less worries
I know a lot of you don’t think it is worth it or believe you are not the type of person who can sit down twice a day for twenty minutes and turn your mind “off”, but you are probably the person who will benefit from it most! There is no better time to start now.
The road is difficult, but nothing worth having comes easy! Be patient with yourself and remember slow and steady progress is best over quick and extreme changes.