Exercises for Washboard Abs

Are washboard abs your dream? Do you want a flat, firm stomach? This article will examine how to lose your belly fat.

You need to realize that your belly is the first area where you will see large amounts of fat accumulate and it is the last area where you will lose it. That’s why you will sometimes see otherwise fit people with a little bit of a pouch. Even people who go to the gym regularly and mostly eat right can be concerned with their stomachs because every mistake is written there. How to lose your belly fat starts with the concept that you’ve got to be in pretty good shape to start with.

If you are 50 pounds over weight, you shouldn’t be concerned with how to lose your belly fat right now. Your present concern is losing the extra weight. A general combination of diet and cardio and strength training exercises is what you want to focus on.

If you are at your ideal weight or weigh 5 pounds more, then you can start worrying about how to lose your belly fat. At this point, you have a good chance of really tackling the problem.

Most people advocate sit ups or crunches to take off this last little bit. Indeed, sometimes “belly fat” isn’t fat at all but untoned muscles.

If you do have belly fat, a step up from sit ups and crunches is using a stability ball. Scientists at Sacramento State University in California took muscle fiber samples from people who regularly did crunches and people who regularly used a stability ball and found that the ball users had twice the muscle fiber. This $30 piece of equipment that you can buy at a sporting goods store is well worth the investment.

Next, consider exercises that bring your legs level to or above your waist. Many people have found that kickboxing is an excellent activity to give them flat stomachs. Not only are you getting a great cardio workout with kickboxing, but you are also moving your legs above your waist line. This is important, because it works out the muscles in your lower belly.

Dancing is also an activity that can help you get the perfect stomach. All kinds of dancing are good, but (and this one is mostly for the ladies), belly dancing specifically targets the muscles in that region. Join a belly dancing class at the local community center or just get video tapes that show you how to do it.

Don’t rely solely on cardio type activities though. You need to be building your muscle mass. Remember that muscle burns fat and when you have more muscle, you are burning fat all day long not just when you work out.

Many people focus on their stomachs as a sore point when they are really overweight all over. For them, I say “get in shape.” Only then will you lose the belly fat.

But, if you are fit, losing the tummy can be the result of doing specific exercises that target the problem area.

And, that’s how to lose your belly fat.