As a Personal Trainer I am used to hearing the following from my clients…
“Can we work our tummy?” .
“We want more ab work”.
“Let’s do some more crunches”
Let’s face it, most people are not asking this to get a strong core or to improve the number of ab crunches they can do. They are asking because they want a nice flat tummy and maybe even to achieve the illusive 6 pack.
If you do NOT have a flat tummy, there may be a number of reasons why.
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1. Extra all over body fat.
You can probably pinch more than an inch or two of body fat at the side area of your tummy. When you pinch the area it will feel full and squishy. You will also be able to pinch a similar amount of body fat at your upper arm and / or inner thigh.
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2. Extra fat primarily around the middle.
You can pinch an inch or two of body fat at the side of your tummy. However the body fat at the upper arm and / or inner thigh is noticeably less than the tummy and you cannot pinch a similar amount of fat there.
Genetics can play a role in this. Some people just naturally hold more body fat around their middle, compared to others who naturally hold it in the lower body. Particularly people with a shorter torso.
Other factors that can cause this are stress, lack of sleep and a diet too high in sugar and / or carbohydrates. These factors will dysregulate your hormones and in turn cause you to hold more fat around your middle. It will also be harder to lose weight in general.
The general appearance of this is an apple shape body with slimmer arms and legs. Women will lose the look of an hourglass and there will be no distinct smaller waist.
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3. Bloating
At times the whole tummy will feel full and hard. It may be hard to pinch an area of body fat. You will have periods throughout the day or week when you do not suffer bloating and periods when you do. Keep a journal to determine if you have a negative reaction to certain foods. Bloating is usually caused by food allergies or intolerances.
Please see your doctor for treatment if you think this affects you
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3. Posture
You may not have extra body fat or bloating, but you might stand with a sway back which causes your tummy to poke out. It may LOOK like you have a bigger tummy than you actually do. Correcting the posture by strengthening the core and doing the appropriate stretches will have a big impact on the look of your tummy.
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4. Extra skin
This is usually caused after you have lost a large amount of weight. Maybe after pregnancy or weight loss surgery. This area will feel thin and saggy. Unfortunately diet and exercise will have little effect on excessing sagging skin. If you are really bothered by this, surgery may be an option. However it is not to be taken lightly. Do your research and see a trusted professional.
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This is Jen,
Jen achieved a flat tummy by reducing her over all body fat. No sit ups, no crunches.
She did this in just 4 weeks after completing one of my fat loss coaching programs
You can see some visible ab definition in the after picture, however Jen did NOT focus on tummy exercises. She always had the muscles there, they were hiding underneath some extra body fat. Once she removed the extra body fat on top, the abdominal muscles became more visible and the tummy became flat.
To burn body fat, we need to use up more energy than we put in.
Regardless of what you might have heard on the latest infomercial, you cannot burn body fat from one specific area only.
To get visible abdominal muscles showing through, commonly known as 6 pack abs, you need very low overall body fat percentage.
- Under around 20% for females
- Under 14% for males (estimates only).
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Click HERE for a very visual video explanation (including funny bloopers:))
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Want more help with your fitness and fat loss goals?
Find out how I can help you HERE >> Coaching with Chriss
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