Wanting that flat stomach?
by Carmin LittleJohn
It never fails, at least once a week someone comes up to me asking about core exercises to lose the fat around their stomach. They want a simple ab routine that will help the get rid of the pesky “pouch”. Yes men you too. So here we go. I want this on the record and if it takes re-reading this every day until you believe me, Please READ IT EVERDAY! It doesn’t matter how many sit ups you do, or how creative of a core workout your trainer puts you through, you CAN NOT crunch your way to a flat stomach, no matter what the infomercials tell you! Diet and cardio are your only friends!!! We are not dealing with a muscle issue, we are dealing with a body fat issue. To lose body fat it’s all about burning more calories than you intake. Sound familiar? The way to a flatter stomach is to put down the high calorie bread options, stop snacking in between meals, and cut down on the sugar. We generally take in 300-500 calories more a day than we think! Take that times 7 days, you’ve gained 1 pound already. Add the exercises in to create the tightness and hardness you want, but no amount of exercise will make up for too many calories.
Feeling to old to exercise?
If I hear one more of my clients say their too old to do this or that I’ll scream! Feeling achey and tight in the morning makes us all feel old. But the reason we feel achy and tight is your body is unstable and the muscles are tightening up to protect your spine. Exercising and stretching will go a long way. Don’t think that having to bend down into a squat is going to kill you. Our knees are designed to bend! Even if we’re 80 years old our knees are still going to have to bend. So take the time to start stretching. If you’re knees aren’t comfortable going into a squat, it just means you have work to do. The muscles need to be lengthened, and not just the thigh muscles. Realize even your back muscles are attached to you hips, and your arm muscles are attached to those muscles, so in our inter-connected world we have to stretch everything to see a difference in our knee movement. If you’re not sure of how to start, take the time to get a trainer to help. They’re there to teach not just to train. Once you learn about how to take care of your body that information is yours for life. And since we’re living into our 100’s, it’s time for us to start taking care of our “old bodies” and treating them like the amazing machines they are. If your car gets more maintenance than your body, it might be time to make a phone call.
Stop skipping the back!
Have you ever been to the gym on a Monday and every single bench machine is taken. Yep must be chest day again. Please stop skipping the back! The back muscles are some of the most important muscles in the body for stabilizing the torso and hips. Have a strong back and the rest of your body will follow. I think since we can’t see it in the mirror we feel its not important, but it is! Your lattisimus dorsi muscle, lat for short, is the muscle that does a pull-up. This amazing muscle covers almost your whole back, attaching to every single vertebrae, your arms, your shoulder blades, and your hips. This monster muscle is involved in almost any movement you can think of, yet we may never even pay attention to it in the gym! Exercises to help strengthen your lats: try some pull-ups. For most of us the assisted pull-up machine is where we should start. Make sure the movement is slow and controlled. Controlling the way down as much as controlling the way up. Lat pull downs, seated rows, and straight arm pull downs are other great exercises. Doing these will help strengthen your whole body and make your posture that much better. So please stop ignoring your back!