Time to Loose That Belly Fat

Don't let that extra bit of padding around the middle become a fact of life as it has for many people. With a little tweaking of the diet and some extra exercise it can be a distant memory. However, if you really want to loose belly fat you have to have the willpower and the commitment to make some important life changes.  One of the contributing factors to heart disease is being overweight. Some experts have suggested that your risk is even more increased if you are carrying that extra weight in your belly. This seems to be a bigger concern for men, but it's not something women can ignore. If you want to loose belly fat you need to devise a plan and then strictly stick to it.  Diet is difficult for many people to change. They become accustomed to eating the same foods, many of which may not be good for them. Fast food restaurants are a favorite of many families yet they contain foods that have little nutritional value. If you want to loose belly fat, fast food has to go.  Fruits, vegetables and whole grains should form the foundation of your diet. Adding some lean meat and protein will keep it balanced and will help you to loose weight. We all hear about the importance of drinking eight glasses of water each day and it's true that there are many benefits to doing this, including reducing your weight. Calcium should be added to your diet as well because it's believed to help cut through belly fat.  Exercise is something of a four letter word to many people but it's essential if you want to make a change in your waistline. If you aren't an active person consider walking as a way to begin a program to loose belly fat. Even just walking fifteen to twenty minutes a few times a week, to start, can make a huge difference in the way you look and feel. 

When you begin to notice your middle shrinking, take that as encouragement and use it to help push you along to losing more weight. It can be tempting to cheat or skip your daily exercise when you feel yourself becoming thinner, but that can sabotage all the progress you have made. If you want to be successful in your quest to loose belly fat you have to stick with the changes you've made for the rest of your life.   Not only will you look great when you've reached your goal weight but you will also be much healthier. It pays to loose belly fat and the rewards are huge, considering that the pay-off may be a few more years alive with your loved ones. You know they will thank you for it.

Abdominal Exercise Machines Options

When I was younger, I used to have fantastic abs. I watched what I ate, limited my fat intake, and did hundreds of crunches per day. Yes, it was very hard work, but the results were worth it. Then everything changed after I gave birth to my first child. I was suddenly very soft around the middle, had noticeable love handles, and couldn't get rid of the flab no matter how many different diets I tried. To make matters worse, I couldn't even do crunches anymore because I had severe chronic back pain. I wasn't ready to accept being out of shape, so I decided to check out some abdominal exercise machines.
Abdominal exercise machines are specially designed to target the abs during each workout. Most abdominal exercise machines simulate regular crunches, but in a way that is much easier on the body. For example, most people do crunches while lying on the floor with their hands behind their head, which puts them at risk for back and neck injuries if they don't have perfect form. That's not a problem with abdominal exercise machines since they limit your motions and force you to have good form in order to operate the mechanisms. In other words, abdominal exercise machines are practically foolproof and give the rest of your body a break while you work on your abs.
I had seen plenty of late-night infomercials for abdominal exercise machines, but wasn't willing to make a purchase decision based solely on what I heard on TV. I wanted to hear what real people had to say about these abdominal exercise machines, not what actors and professional bodybuilders were paid to say. So I went online to find third-party consumer reviews of some of the leading abdominal exercise machines. I wanted to know which products were well-constructed, easy to use, and actually worked on sculpting abs, and which products would just waste my time. Plus, I wanted to find websites where I could buy the most popular abdominal exercise machines at the lowest prices. These products were very expensive, so any discounts I could get would definitely help my wallet.
It's a good thing I decided to read online reviews of abdominal exercise machines before buying one. It turns out that the one product I really had my eye on wasn't received very well by consumers. There were a couple of big problems with it that I never would have known about until it was too late if I hadn't done the proper research first. So I actually ended up buying one of the other abdominal exercise machines that was lower down on my list but that received rave reviews.

Now that I've got one of these abdominal exercise machines, I'm able to work on my abs several times a week without experiencing any back pain at all. And more importantly, I'm slowly but surely starting to see a reduction in my waist size. If I keep this up, I know I'll be back to my pre-childbirth body in a few months!

All About Working The Transverse Abdominals

A group of muscles that often gets neglected in stomach exercise routines are the transverse abdominals, the core muscles that lie below the rectus abdominus. Most abdominal exercises target the rectus abdominus and the vertical abdominals, ignoring the transverse abdominals. Even crunches, the staple of most abdominal workouts, do nothing for the transverse abdominals.

These muscles are actually the most important to target, however, as they connect to both the lower back muscles and the rectus abdominus and for a girdle for the entire abdomen. Any routine aimed at flattening the stomach should include the transverse abdominals as a focus. Using the following exercises, you can work out your transverse abdominals and really make progress on that flat tummy. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.

Pelvic Tilts This stomach exercise requires lying on your back on a flat surface, such as the floor or a bench. Use a mat or towel to cushion your spine. Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Raise your pelvis (and only your pelvis) off the floor, hold momentarily, and then lower it back down. Repeat for an entire set. Maintaining a controlled movement is crucial to this exercise. This will allow you to use your abdominal muscles, rather than your body's momentum, to do the work on the exercise. Also, be sure to keep your upper body on the floor throughout.

Crunchless Crunch This first exercise is fairly simple but can also be fairly difficult. Essentially, it involves trying to pull the belly button in towards the spine. This can be tricky, as it involves using muscles which you may not be used to activating. To start, either lie or on your stomach or kneel. You might want to try both ways and see which helps you feel the exercise better. Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower abdominals to move your belly button toward your spine. Hold for ten seconds. If holding for ten seconds feels easy, hold for a longer period. The goal is to hold the contraction until you either cannot feel it, or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the contraction out.

Scissor Kicks This stomach exercise also requires lying on the floor. Position your hands under your butt, keeping your back pressed against the floor. Slowly raise one leg to a height of about ten inches, then slowly lower it back to the floor. As your lower one leg, raise the other. Repeat this motion for an entire set. Maintaining control throughout is important, not allowing momentum to get the better of you. Your upper body should remain on the floor through the entire move.

There are plenty of other exercises targeting the transverse abdominals, but these three ought to be enough to get you started. Stomach exercises like these are key to any tummy-flattening plan, and they are especially good for pregnant and post-partum women.

Where To Find Free Exercises To Flatten Stomach

They are everywhere; magazines where on the front cover have beautiful models showing off their flat stomach and a caption that may say something similar to "Want flat abs, we'll show you how!" These magazine articles are great for some people who want to spend the money to buy the magazine in order to find out how to flatten their stomach. Then there are endless websites that if you sign up and pay the fee, you will be given exercise routines meant to flatten you stomach. Again, this may be a good source for some people who have this goal, but where can you go to find free exercise to flatten stomachs?
The internet is probably one of the best sources for finding free information. There are hundreds of sites a person will find just by using the search words "free stomach exercises" or similar phrases. These sites will give step-by-step instructions on how to perform a variety of exercises to flatten stomachs. When a person finds several exercises he or she likes, it is simple to print them out and have the paper available when performing the exercise.
Another good source to find free exercises to flatten stomachs is at a library. The library may actually have more information then the internet; it is just not as convenient. A person who takes the time to visit the library can find books on how to flatten their stomach read magazine articles and borrow videos that talk about exercises to flatten stomachs.
One source for finding free exercise to flatten stomachs is the television. If a person can set aside a specific time during the day for exercise, there are many television programs on throughout the day that are exercise related, even channels dedicated just to exercise and health. Many of these shows will focus on flattening stomachs, since this is a primary goal of most people that exercise. This method for finding free exercises to flatten stomachs may be the least convenient and may not be feasible to everyone, but for some people that can find the right program and make it work with their schedule or the ability to record for use at a later time, it may be a good option.

For people that truly need to loose weight around their stomachs for health reasons, doctors are probably the best source for free exercises to flatten stomachs. They will have available many brochures and other material that will help the person in their goal to look and feel better. In addition, a doctor would be a good source for finding out other places to obtain this information.
There are hundreds of sources for finding exercises to flatten stomachs. Some of these sources require a purchase or even an investment. There are also many sources available that offer free exercises to flatten stomach muscles. Just because a person paid for the information does not necessarily make it better. Remember, the best exercise is the exercise that works for the individual, regardless of the source.

All About Free Exercises To Flatten The Stomach Fast

Many people believe that in order to get their desired results when it comes to a flatter stomach, they must spend a lot of money in order to achieve their goal, especially if they have a goal to flatten the stomach fast. They may think that they need to buy an expensive gym membership so they have access to the best equipment, or they may believe that they need to hire a person trainer in order to get a flat stomach. Then there are some people who know going to a gym is not an option because of money or time, but they think that they will only get a flat stomach if they buy one or several of the many apparatuses designed for exercising the stomach.

The fact is that all of this is untrue. While going to a gym may help some people, it does not guarantee results; the same is true for all those machines and other equipment that is sold to people claiming they will get a flatter stomach by using the specific machine or equipment. The truth is that the same results can be achieved without spending any extra money, which is really good news for people who do not have or want to spend money in order to get a flatter stomach. There are many places to find free exercises to flatten stomach fast.

Among some of the most common places to look for free exercises to flatten the stomach fast is the internet which has a large amount of information regarding this topic along with step by step instructions on how to perform varies movements aimed at flattening the stomach fast. There is also the library which has many different books and videos a person can choose from and borrow without having to pay to use them. Besides finding different free exercises to flatten the stomach fast, there are several that most people are already aware of; they just need to take the time to do them. The crunch is a very popular and basic exercise designed to flatten and tone the stomach muscles. There are of course variations of this basic exercise, but for many people just being consistent with this one movement is enough to bring about results.

How much money a person spends does not necessarily equal the results that person can expect to get. It is true that if a person spends a lot of money, they may find themselves more committed to exercising since they do not want their money to go to waste, but for those that do not have the money, or just do not want to spend a lot of money, there is no reason to believe that a flat stomach is unachievable.

Exercise is not about the amount of money spent, it is about the time and dedication spent on exercising. Also, a flat stomach is a combination of exercise and diet. A person can do many exercises geared at flattening their stomach, but if they eat a lot of extra food, or fattening foods, they will not get the flat stomach they hope for.

Pilates History

This physical fitness system was developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century. As of 2005, there were 11 million people who practiced this method regularly and there were approximately 14,000 instructors in the U.S.A.

Pilates names his method of exercise Contrology as he believed that his Pilates Method used one's mind to control the body's muscles.

The program's main focus is on the core postural muscles. These help to keep the body balanced, and these muscles also help to provide support for the spine.

Pilates exercises make a person aware of breath and the alignment of the spine. An emphasis is also placed on strengthening the deep torso muscles which are so important in helping to alleviate and prevent back pain.

Joseph Pilates first formed this method during World War I in an effort to improve the rehabilitation program that would be needed by many of the returning veterans.

He believed that physical and mental health are essential to each other. His precise movements emphasized form and control to help the injured soldiers regain their health by stretching, strengthening and stabilizing key muscles.

-The Pilates Principles- were created by Joseph Pilates to condition the entire body which includes proper alignment, concentration, precision, flowing movement, centering, control and breathing.

You can expect a Pilates session to help increase strength and flexibility, align the spine and lengthen the body. The Pilates method does not build muscle mass.

The fields of rehabilitation and fitness encourage Pilates for its focus on the lower back muscles as well as those of the abdomen.

The Strong Stomach Workout

When beginning an abdominal workout routine, for most people the goal is simple: a flatter stomach. While a smooth, flat stomach looks good, it is less of an accomplishment if the the stomach muscles have not gained any strength. In addition to slimming down around the outer abdominals, it is also important to build strength in the core abdominals. Below are some stomach exercises that work out the core to build strong muscles throughout the abdomen. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.

Tone Your Torso Begin this stomach exercise on all fours, knees and hands on the floor. Keep your stomach pulled in and extend your left arm out in front of you (football fans, imagine a referee signaling first down). Keep this arm outstretched as you extend your right leg out behind you. Switch arms and legs, and repeat for an entire set. Take particular care not to let your pelvis sway out of position.

Butt Burner You will need to lie on your back for this exercise. Use a mat or towel to cushion your spine. Bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor, and position your arms at your sides. Squeeze your buttocks as you lift your pelvis off the floor. Keep the rest of your body in line. Raise your pelvis to about forty-five degrees, so your upper body from your head to your knees makes a straight, flat ramp. Hold this for three to five seconds before slowly lowering your pelvis back to the floor. Repeat for an entire set.

Crunchless Crunch This stomach exercise is fairly simple in theory but can be fairly difficult to perform. Essentially, it involves trying to pull the belly button in towards the spine. This can be tricky, as it involves using muscles which you may not be used to activating. To start, either lie or on your stomach or kneel. You might want to try both ways and see which helps you feel the exercise better. Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower abdominals to move your belly button toward your spine. Hold for ten seconds. If this feels easy, hold for a longer period. The goal is to hold the contraction until you either cannot feel it, or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the contraction out.

Scissor Kicks This stomach exercise also requires lying on the floor. Position your hands under your butt, keeping your back pressed against the floor. Slowly raise one leg to a height of about ten inches, then slowly lower it back to the floor. As your lower one leg, raise the other. Repeat this motion for an entire set. Maintaining control throughout is important, not allowing momentum to get the better of you. Your upper body should remain on the floor through the entire move.

These are just a few of all the strength building stomach exercises out there. If you are looking to build strength in your midsection, look for any exercise that works your core, especially the transverse abdominal muscles. Many components of Pilates are good for this also.