How to Tone Lower Abs

A major problem area women have to deal with is the lower abs. It is an area our body loves to store fat especially after having babies. I have many women request for me to help them target this area. In fact, this article was a request! The good news is, with work, it can be done. The bad news is you can not target fat loss in a specific area. Fat loss is an over all body accomplishment. You can lose body fat and you can strengthen and build the muscle underneath (which further promotes fat loss) and you can change your diet to promote fat loss. All these things will not only tone your lower abs, but will tone your entire body!!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• time
• committment
• journal (pretty notebook and pretty pen you enjoy writing in every day)
• optional:
• stability ball
• medicine ball
• cardio equipment

1. Commitment: The first thing to understand is there is no way to really isolate fat loss in one specific area. That being said, there are THREE pieces to the weight loss puzzle. They are not difficult to understand, but they are difficult to commit to. There are so many excuses whether it be Mom's or singles can come up with not to attain their goals. Make a commitment you YOURSELF. Think about how many people you do things for. Don't you owe it to yourself to do something difficult, that takes discipline, that results in happiness?

2. PUZZLE PIECE NUMBER ONE: CARDIO: Cardio exercise is the main ingredient in burning stored body fat. This should be done 5 days a week at MINIMUM 30 MINUTES!! An hour is best especially during the weight loss phase. When you are just maintaining you can cut back. I find it easier to break it up in 2 sessions, one morning, one evening but whatever works best in your schedule is fine.
   A few key things to remember is a.)keep your heart rate up. You need to be sweating! b.)variation is key. If you walk on the treadmill 5 days a week at 4.0 eventually your body will adapt to that calorie expenditure (homeostasis). It will not be as effective. You can vary in activity as well as intensity. So if you walk at 4.0 one day, the next day jog for 2 minutes, walk for 2 minutes. The third day add an incline, the fourth back to walking etc. You can also switch machines or go outside!

3. 

   PUZZLE PIECE NUMBER TWO: STRENGTH TRAINING: Lifting weights and building lean muscle is called anaerobic exercise. When you do an hour of anaerobic exercise you continue to burn calories for 24 hours. Strength training is very important because the more muscle you have the more fat you burn at rest (the faster your metabolic rate becomes). Most woman in the beginning fear lifting weights because they "don't want to get big" or "I don't want to look like a man." Trust me that won't happen! Woman's bodies are not meant to look like that so when you see women are very muscular, it is because most of them work really really hard at it! Do not fear weight training!! :)

4. PUZZLE PIECE NUMBER THREE: DIET: Last but definitely not least is diet. This is believe it or not, the hardest but most important part to commit to. Everything you eat every time you eat it effects your weight loss. Remember that when you are trying to lose weight or lose fat it is important to be more strict than when you are trying to maintain.
   Some tips: a.)Eat every 3 hours. I know you have heard this a number of times. It is important to speed up your metabolism. You should have 4-5 200-400 calorie meals per day.
   b.)Sugar is your enemy more than fat. If you constantly look at labels and frown at the fat content, you must now reverse your thinking. Look at the sugar content. Excess sugar is stored as fat. So those jelly beans that say 0g of fat? Guess what? They forgot to tell you how many grams of fat they are once your body converts the sugar!!
   c.) Limit (do not cut out) carb intake. Many people are confused as to what defines a carbohydrate. Most people think bread and potatoes. Fruit and vegetables are also considered carbs. Think about carbs as sugars. You want sugars that your body will use as energy not sugars it will immediately convert to fat. Something very difficult to fathom is that fruits are simple sugars and easily stored. You want to limit your fruit intake to once a day and I recommend it in the morning. I know, I know, the age old thought is fruits are healthy..well they ARE healthy, BUT there is a difference between eating for fat loss and eating for health.
   d.) eat carbs with a protein. This limits how much carb is stored as fat and ensures protein is used properly for muscle growth. Some examples: Tuna and salad, chicken and steamed veggies, eggs and a grapefruit. Some other carbs you can add are brown rice and sweet potatoes
   e.)When in doubt, eat from the earth. If it is processed, chances are there are chemical additives. These additives many times inhibit our ability to loss fat. Processed pertains to anything made in a factory.
   f.)Supplements: Multi vitamins are very important, as well as Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's) which are Omega 3-6-9. You can pick this up in tablet form and take them with each meal. This helps activate fat burning enzymes in the body, minimizes enzymes involved in storing fat and is an excellent energy source.

5. 

   AB TARGET EXERCISES: Work your abs with every weight training session! It is important to strengthen the muscle underneath the fat. Once you do the other 3 things and lose all the surrounding fat, you will have nice lean, toned muscles underneath!

6. 

   CORE TRAINING: A great way to strengthen and tone abs is by core training. (See my article on core training)
   A great exercise for new Mom's especially if you've had a C-section (after 8 weeks) is a stability ball bridge(pictured). Start by sitting on the ball. Walk your legs forward until your head neck and shoulders are resting on the ball. Keep your body straight (parallel to the floor) from your head to your knees. Keep your abs tight (belly button to spine). Hold this position for one minute. Repeat 3 times. This can be done daily!

Tips & Warnings

• Writing in a journal is a great way to keep yourself on track. A good way to do it is to mark down what time you ate, what you ate, how you felt (ie. I was tired today.) and what exercise you did.
• Committing to a lifestyle change is difficult for busy Mom's and working people. The easiest and best way to stick to change is through preparation. Plan your meals ahead and prepare them in advance. (ie. I cook a bunch of chick breasts on Sunday and that way I have them for the week)
• Find what works for you. There is so much information it is hard for me to put it all in one article. A lot of things must be generalized. Everyone is different!
• Have patience and perseverance. It has taken you a long time to build bad habits. It takes a long time to unbuild them too! If you make mistakes, forgive yourself and move on. Understand that weight loss takes time but it WILL HAPPEN. Set goals, rewards or whatever works for you to stay on track!
• Not all supplements are created equal! Do your homework.
• Listen to your body

[williewonk]

on 7/24/2008 EXCELLENT ARTICLE! I was very confused about carbs until I read your article, thank you!

[raystarck]

on 11/28/2007 great write up.