There are a few myths when it comes to how to get those flat abs you’ve aways envied that I want to dispel. The very first myth that needs to be addressed is that I am giving you permission, at least for the moment, to forget about ab exercises. Forget about the crunches. Crunches are not the way to get that set of flat abs that you’re after. All those crunches you’ve been doing until now, that’s great for getting a strong mid-section; but what it will not help you do is get a flat mid-section. Those are different things.
A strong stomach isn’t necessarily a flat stomach, and vice versa.
So if it’s a flat-as-a-pancake sideways profile you’re after, I want you to think about replacing those ab exercises with H.I.I.T. training, which refers to High Intensity Interval Training. Now, there’s lots of fancy schmancy formulas out there, but I really recommend that you just keep it simple. Just push the pace, and you can decide what that length that could be, whether that’s 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 90 seconds, etc., and then you’re going to recover at quite a slower pace for an equal length of time. The beauty about high intensity interval training is it really doesn’t take that much time. So, 20 minute workouts using intervals will actually have the same amount or more of the fat-burning effect than a long 60 minute run, so that’s awesome! (Especially for busy professional like us who have, like, negative time to spare!)
Next item on the agenda is strength training, but ab exercises are really not where I want you to be focused for the purpose of getting rid of the tummy pooch. I want you to be focused on major muscle groups instead. These are your quads, your glutes, hamstrings, and lats (the large muscle group that spans your mid-to-upper back)—those are some of your larger muscle groups. Here’s why I want you to tone your major muscle groups. The more muscle fibers you have, the better your metabolism.
Despite the 30 minutes that you spend working out, when you have more muscle fibers you are burning more when you are at rest.
You’re burning more as you work, as you’re watching TV, as you eat your meals. That’s why I want you to focus on having more muscle fibers; but the key to this is to work larger muscle groups, so you can get more muscle fibers.
Next item on your checklist is to go through your pantry. You cannot have flat abs without reducing overall body fat, and you cannot (repeat, cannot) reduce your overall body fat without paying attention to what’s going in your mouth. The estimate is that about 80% of our body fat percentage is determined by what we eat, which I know is depressing, but that’s just how it is. So, really make an effort to weed out highly processed foods and white-refined carbohydrates (and most importantly, sugars).
Next step, and this might be a surprising for you, but managing your stress levels is huge. That’s an absolute essential for building your set of flat abs. Increases in stress leads to an elevated stress hormone called cortisol, which has been specifically linked to increases in belly fat. High levels of stress also increase oxidative stress on the body, making your workouts feel harder and thus your physical output lower even if you DO manage to get your feet into some gym shoes at the end of a stressful day.
If you’re trying to get rid of belly fat, it’s so crucial to manage your stress levels. I know, I know it’s easier said than done–managing my own stress seems to be a minute-by-minute uphill battle these days– but there are some practical things that you can build in. I’ve done some live broadcasts on some of my favorite meditation apps that you can check out, and making sure you’re taking breaks between managing difficult projects will do so much in managing stress levels.
The next one is a little bit similar, but sleep deprivation has also been linked to excess levels of cortisol, and excess levels of body fat–especially in the mid-section. So, the more sleep that we can get, whether that means making a point to turn off the television an hour before bed, or setting a really strict bed time, the more our bodies will work with us rather than against us.
One little trick to this is to try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on the weekends, because your body’s circadian rhythms will start to expect that it goes to bed at whatever time you set, and will wake up to whatever time you’ve been accustomed to waking up.
And finally another one that might be a little bit surprising to you is to reduce your exposure to chemicals. We’re living in an increasingly toxic environment. There are chemicals in so many products. There’s chemicals in our household cleaners, cosmetics, skin care, shampoo, candles, etc. I really recommend switching to plant-based ingredients. The Honest Company is a good choice for plant-based products, and also Melaleuca is a good one as well.
This will go so far in creating a healthy environment overall, and also specifically in decreasing body fat, and here’s why—chemicals actually like the environment of excess body fat. Toxins really find fat to be a hospitable host. It’s a double-edged sword—the more body fat you have in your body, the more dangerous these chemicals are to you, but the inverse is also true, that the more chemical exposure you have, the more likely you are going to hang on to extra weight, because it affects your digestion, and different regulatory procedures.
So there you have it! Pick one goal in each of these areas, and you’ll be well on your way to showing off that flat midsection in time for swimsuit season!
Ready to put these lessons into action? Start burning fat today with my free 25-Minute Yoga + Cardio Circuit Workout Video.
