Spring Break Schedule & 5 Rules for Flat Abs

Happy Spring Break!

For those of you who are in town for some or all of this week, I'll be holding sessions Monday, 3/29 at 9:30a and Friday, 4/2 at 9:30am. Hope to see you. Email me if you can make one or both sessions!

For those of you who are out of town this Spring Break, I thought I would share with you some tips I found in Women's Health that will help flatten out those abs. Heck, with the weather we are having right now, we should use every trick we can to get bikini/bathing suit ready as fast as we can! Hope these tips are helpful!

Have an amazing week!

Barb



The Five Rules of Flat Abs: (I've summarized the article below):

Rule 1: Attack your hidden core muscles
To burn 1 lb of fat, you would have to do 250,000 crunches, moreover, crunches only will not work your core muscles. Instead work the muscles that lie beneath the superficial ones: your transverse abdominus, multifidis and internal obliques (for more detail on these muscles see this link: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/abdominalcorestrength1/ss/AbAnatomy.htm). Strengthening these muscles pulls in your midsection like a corset! Exercises like the Plank is great for the transverse abdominus.


Rule 2: Move You Butt:
Your butt and your belly are unlikely partners in crime. Over time, sitting around too much renders your hip flexors to become stiff. This combo tilts your pelvis forward, which increases the arch in your back and puts stress on your spine. All of this essentially pushes your abdomen out! (UGH!) All this means that to lose your gut, you have to work your butt!


Rule #3: Eat Flat-Belly Foods:

• Pump up your protein intake: Try substituting meat, fish, dairy and nuts for carbs.
• Eliminate added sugar: the avg American eats about 20 tsp of sugar everyday in the form of processed foods (cereal, soda, fruit drinks). That's 325 empty calories/day. Al that sugar increases insulin production which slows down your metabolism.
• Don't cut out ALL fat: Choose foods that are rich in monounsaturated fats such as olives, nuts, and avocados. And it is OK to eat whole foods in moderation with saturated fats (milk, cheese, butter)
• Beat the Bloat: Carbonated drinks and even good for your foods such as beans and broccoli will make you swell. The best tip is to watch your sodium intake: Nutritionists suggest that you should consume less then 2,000 milligrams each day to avoid excess water (most get closer to 5,000/day)

Rule # 4: Stop Stressing
Anxiety caused by stress can produce an excess level of cortisol, a hormone that encourages the body to store extra fat, particularly in your belly. Researchers at Yale University reported that your midsection is 4x as likely as the rest of your body to store stress-induced fat. Tip: if you can, take a short break from work every 90 mins to breathe and relax. Also, stay away from junk foods during stress.

Rule #5: Work Your Abs Less Often
Don't do ab work daily. You only need 3 sessions/week to see max results. Give your muscles a full day to recover.