Flatten Your Stomach in 10 Minutes a Day

Let's Get Old School on Your Abs

Let's face it, most westerners are fat, and getting fatter. In most of the western hemisphere the availability of fast, convenient and fat laden foods has contributed to a growing problem of obesity in most of the developed world. And with this comes the added issues of back problems and even diabetes.

What I am going to present here are some fairly simple, no nonesense, old school techniques and advice for getting a flatter stomach and improving your overall health. And you don't need any of those expensive gadgets you see on late night infomercials that are of dubious quality and limited effectiveness. Especially when a majority of them wind up as expensive clothes hangers or on a table at a yard sale.

With a little work and a lot of consistancy you can see results in 4 to 6 weeks.

Sex, Lies and Crappy Products

Ok, we've all been up way past our bed times and got sucked in to watching those infomercials claming that this product will do everything from give you a rock hard six pack to cook your bacon for you in the morning (may want to lay off the bacon for a bit though) And we all know people who have actually bought these products. Now ask yourself, if you know someone who has purchased one of these things, is their stomach any flatter that it was say, six months ago? More than likely the answer is no. Don't get caught up in the fancy graphics, the heat sensitive camera that shows how hard the muscles are working, or the great looking models with the tiny waists. These are actors, paid to perform and say just what the marketers want you to hear. And to play on your emotional response by appealing to either your sex drive or your vanity.

The truth is there is no miracle pill, no piece of plastic and tubing that can reduce your waistline overnight. The good news is, you can do it yourself, with no equipment and just a bit of will power and consistency.

Let's Go Old School

I know you have all heard of, and probably done some abdominal crunches at sometime in your life, while a good exercise to be sure, I am going to introduce you to some other, decidedly old school exercises that will make those crunches much more effective.

But first a word about consistency. You cannot reduce your gut overnight, that is just a fact, and often after a long day in the salt mines the last thing you want to do is get on your shorts and work out. What I have found, and what I do every morning in addition to my regular bodybuilding workouts is this; As soon as I awake, six mornings a week, I do 50 push ups and 50 crunches, leg lifts or some other abdominal exercise. Doesn't sound like much but it is a highly effective habit. Think about it, 50 sit ups x 6 days a week is 300 sit ups in a week. Now in the course of just a month you've done 1,200 sit ups! That's nothing to sneeze at. Combine that with over 1,000 push ups and you are making some real strides. Doing this first thing in the morning will also jump start your metabolism and make burning the calories you do take in easier.

Exercises

When I first began competing in bodybuilding years ago I had had several really old school guys take me under their wing who taught me a lot about lifting, things I still use today, and one thing they told me was that guys like Steve Reeves (Mr America and later famous for playing Hercules) were getting big, classically proportioned physiques long before Nautilus machines were invented. Back in the 1940's and 50's the ideal was well proportioned physiques with small waists-- Unlike the steroid bloated competitors of the last thirty or so years.

And two exercises that they used were stomach vacuums and standing or seated twists. For some reason, vacuums especially, have fallen in to disuse in most workout programs but there are few more effective exercises you can do for your waistline when combined with crunches, leg lifts and sensible eating.

To do twists, simply lay a broomstick across your shoulders holding on to each end, legs shoulder width apart and twist from side to side 50-100 repetitions each side should be enough for one session. You can also do them sitting if you prefer and I would advise alternating between both methods.

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Do You Really Need a Bowflex?

Lots of people wonder is it possible to get in shape with out spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on equipment, the short answer is, ABSOLUTELY! Now don't get me wrong, the Bowflex is a great piece of equipment, I've used one, and I found them to be excellent. However they can be expensive, especially if you get all the bells and whistles. Nice to have but definitely not required (I will go in to some recommendations and reviews of home exercise equipment in later articles).

If you want to get a good work out with minimal investment in equipment you can do so quite easily, all you need is a set of adjustable dumbbells that you can purchase almost anywhere and a flat or adjustable bench- I would also recommend a broomstick for doing abdominal twists. A pair of push up handles and a pull up bar can also be added to the mix but are not required.

Trust me, you will be amazed how effective a workout you can get with just a bare minimum of equipment and your own body weight.

Don't let the late night infomercials scam you in to buying another "abroller" that ends up as a clothes hanger or garage sale item. These things are all hat, no cattle.

Until next time.

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Let's Talk Food

You love to eat right? Yeah, me too! And like everyone I sometimes over do it, and that's ok, it happens to all of us. Quite frankly, no one short of a Buddhist monk or Spartan warrior can maintain 100% discipline 100% of the time. The trick is to not fall off the wagon and just lay there, but to get back up and keep going when you do. You also have to change the way you think about food. Learn to feed your body, not your mouth.

When I was competing in Bodybuilding and dieting for a contest, what I ate and when I ate it was just as important if not more so than actually training with weights and doing cardio. During one phase of my pre-contest diet I would be up at 7 am running or riding the lifecycle and my first meal of the day was a large piece of tuna and brown rice. That's not very breakfast now is it? No, but I knew that I needed the 30+ grams of low fat protein and carbs to start my day right- I was feeding my body, not my mouth. Food can have an almost drug like effect on your body if you know what you are doing. Once you get your mind around this concept it is much easier to eat healthier and wiser without feeling deprived or cheated.

So throw out all these fad diets such as Atkins and the like. Eating healthy in moderate proportions and eating more often through the day is the right way to go about losing weight while not feeling run down or tired- feeling run down and tired all the time is a sure way to get anyone to chuck the whole idea and go back to the unhealthy habits that caused them to gain weight in the first place.

You don't have to kill yourself to look better and feel better, you only need a little willpower, prior planning and common sense. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it almost always is.

In my next post we will discuss training and exercise to start burning off those pounds, and as we progress look for links to resources for equipment, recipes and a way you can contact me directly to address your specific questions.

You can look forward to all that as well as product reviews, insight and busting the myths about weight loss and exercise.