Losing abdominal fat is something that many men want to do and it is one of the most highly sought after weight loss tips for both men and women. Most people think there’s nothing attractive about a big flabby belly. Having a flat stomach and tight abs makes us look leaner, fitter, younger and more attractive.
Losing abdominal fat is also very important for our health. When we are apple shaped, with our excess weight concentrated around the belly, the danger to our vital organs is very great. Much of the weight is carried by visceral fat surrounding the heart, liver and other organs. This can kill.
So what are the secrets to losing abdominal fat? They lie in two areas: diet and exercise.
Losing Abdominal Fat With Diet
Many guys make the mistake of thinking that all they need to do to get a rock hard six pack is to go to the gym a few times a week. Unfortunately, this is not true. If you are carrying excess fat, it is not easy to change that into muscle with exercise alone. You will not impress anybody with your muscles if they are still hidden under a layer of belly fat.
The answer to this lies in your diet. You probably know what makes a healthy diet so there is no need to go over it again. If you don’t then browse other articles on this website and you will find plenty of information on that topic. Basically if boils down to replacing some of the pizza, beer and other junk with healthy foods. Protein supplements can help you to avoid eating too much fatty red meat. Keeping track of what you eat with a calorie counter can help you to see where you can easily cut down.
Losing Abdominal Fat With Exercise
There are many exercises that you can do to target the abs. These include the classic crunch along with other crunches that may be even more effective for tightening the abdominal muscles such as the bicycle crunch. In fact, the bicycle crunch has been found to get much better results than a classic crunch for tightening both the six pack and the waist.
To do the bicycle crunch, lie on your back on the floor with hands beside or behind the head. Bring the bent knees up toward the chest and raise the shoulder blades up off the floor. Then straighten each leg alternately as if pedaling a bicycle in the air, and at the same time turn the upper body away from the straight leg.
So while your right leg is straightening out your left knee is coming in toward the chest, and you are twisting the upper body to the left and bringing the right elbow toward the left knee. Be careful not to pull on the neck or head at all, just rest the hands behind the head and make the abs do the work.
Be sure to include other exercises in your workout too. Leg raises and work on the exercise ball can also be great for the abs. Plus it is important to tone up all of the other core muscles so that they are not left weak and vulnerable to injury.
Taking this two-part approach to losing abdominal fat will help you to get that tight stomach fast!