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Great Workouts For Flat Abs

By Wesley Thompson
Jul 4, 2009
The abdominal or belly area of the body is the part that most people are unhappy with. Eating too much of the wrong foods, pregnancy, sedentary lifestyles and lack of physical activity all lead too much belly fat and soft muscles. This gives the flabby, rounded belly. The best workout for flat abs isn't about spending grueling hours at a gym; there are strategies you can do at home to get into shape.

Any reduction in body fat and strengthening of muscle begins with what you put into your mouth. You hear it over and over, but that is because it is the truth. To lose body fat, you need to burn it by building muscle and getting active. You need to burn more calories than you eat - common sense when you stop to think about it.

To begin your flat abs workout you need to take control of your diet. Eating 5 or 6 smaller meals a day helps you to avoid feeling hungry and keeps your metabolism working hard. Protein builds muscle, so a diet that includes plenty of lean protein is good for your flat belly. Eat chicken (no skin), canned or fresh fish, beans and lentils, nuts and no-fat dairy.

Balance is important in a healthy diet, so get your carbohydrates from fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grain breads and cereals, dried beans, nuts and non-fat dairy. Drink lots of water; snack on fruit smoothies, nuts and fruit; get enough sleep and avoid fried, fatty, fast and highly processed foods.

An important step in your flat abs workout is to get active. Aim for 30 minutes of physical activity every day, with a cardio session on 5 days of the week. You can walk, use a treadmill or rower, cycle, run or swim - enough to get your heart rate up and to be breathing harder than usual. While you are doing cardio exercise you are burning extra fat, building and toning muscle, increasing your general fitness and mobility and preparing your abs for stronger exercise.

Strength training and specific abs exercises are among the best workout for flat abs. Strength training focusing on muscles in the torso, including the abdominals, will strengthen the core, improve coordination and balance and enable you to perform more difficult abs exercises. Always warm up before strength training, with some light cardio and stretches, and do the same to cool down afterwards.

Gyms have a wide range of weight training machines, but you can do strength exercises at home, using your own body weight as the resistance to the muscle action. Good exercises include the plank and side plank and oblique crunches. If you go online, you will find many sites that give specific abs strength exercises that you can do at home as part of your best workout for flat abs, and avoid the expensive gym fees.
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