Sunday, December 21, 2008

Exercises for a Flat Stomach

By Jose Loni

The formula for a flat stomach is not difficult. However, in order to be successful with the flat stomach formula, we need to understand three basic factors that will determine how flat our stomach will get. Those factors are: monitoring the frequency and quality of our food intake, increasing our energy expenditure and decreasing stress in our lives.

As we strive for a flat stomach, we must also monitor the quality and frequency of our food intake. We can begin by increasing our food intake to 5-6 meals throughout the day. Each meal should be made up of foods from the different basic food groups. Water intake is very important, which is a better alternative to sodas. Making healthier food choices will help give our bodies the necessary fuel for our daily lives and our workouts.

Progression is always the key to starting an exercise program. We can start by walking for 20 minutes and progress to 30 minutes, three times per week. Exercise intensity should be maintained at a brisk pace to increase the heart rate and keep the activity challenging.

By focusing on multi joint exercises, we can increase our metabolism and decrease our overall fat. By increasing our metabolism, we can tap into the body's fat burning capabilities to help flatten our stomach, where the fat is accumulated. When we increase our lean body mass from exercise, our bodies will search for the next available energy source, which will be fat from our stomach.

When our bodies are in a stressful situation, it reacts by releasing a hormone called Cortisol, which tells our bodies to preserve fat and prepare our bodies for emergency situation. That fat is thereby stored in our stomach area. By utilizing various techniques of stress management exercises, we can affect our bodies to optimize its fat burning capabilities, which will lead to a flat stomach.

A stress coping mechanism that is greatly used and very easy to do in any environment is deep breathing. Taking a deep breath through our nose and deep into our abdomen, then slowly exhaling and releasing the air through our mouth. This method allows for a greater exchange of oxygen into our bodies and carbon dioxide to be expelled.

Flattening your stomach can be as easy as 1-2-3, nutrition, physical activity and stress reduction. By committing to making changes in our lives, we are able to achieve that flat stomach. - 15995

About the Author: