Flat Abs without Crunches

Dream of having a surfboard stomach!

 If you have been doing crunches forever & are wondering why you still don't have flat abs, you have been working under 'The Myth that doesn't Die': You can do exercise for a certain body part & get rid of the fat there.
The Truth: Flat abs are difficult to get.


The abdominal muscles are made up a single muscle unit attached at the ribs to the pelvis. There are a couple of different layers, making up the rectus abdominis (six pack), transverse abdominis (core), & external /internal obliques. These muscles work together with the back muscles to hold the trunk in an upright position. These muscles are a clear indicator of posture.

So how do you get flat abs without doing crunches?


Leave all processed foods

Getting a flat stomach has a lot to do with fat accumulation over the abs. Most people will accumulate fat on the stomach, butt, and hips as a result of a poor or unbalanced diet. Stomach fat is some of the toughest to burn off. Since spot fat reduction is not possible, crunches won't effect the flab sitting over the muscle. No specific exercise can reduce fat from the stomach region. It is 80% the effect of diet that people accumulate fat or burn fat off the body.

Since diet plays such a huge role in body fat, cutting out all processed foods will have an equally effective role in burning it off. Processed foods account for prepared restaurant foods, fat food, junk food, processed meats, processed dairy products, and anything else altered from its original state. Processed foods are high in sodium, possess far less nutrition and usually have preservatives.


Try eating foods that are prepared freshly at home. Shop for whole products at the grocery store or market, eat whole fruits and vegetables & nuts. These foods all come in their natural state and have not been processed or prepared before-hand.

Cut Down your Cardio


Contrary to popular belief, cardio is not the most effective way to get abs. Cardiovascular workouts do help to burn a moderate amount of calories, but it is not the best way to burn up stomach fat. This is not to say that cardio won't help, but unless you are preparing for some kind of athletic event, cardiovascular exercise only requires a maximum of 30 minutes 3 times per week.


"Use It or Lose It"

Men and women alike who want a flat stomach should start lifting heavy weights to challenge the muscles to work as hard as possible. Using any combination of exercises which target all major muscle groups, the body will start burning fat. 


Lifting heavy weights leads to more weight loss than cardio does-after cleaning up your diet by cutting out processed foods, the body will start to drop weight accordingly. When weight is being lost, muscle mass will also be lost instead of fat, if the muscles don't have a reason to stay. By working the muscles, the body is forced to search for other sources of energy, working its way to fat.

Work on Core and Stability Movements

Rather than sit ups and crunches, use stability and whole core exercises. These are exercises which target the core muscles & use them in a way similar to their normal function. A crunch is hardly a natural movement, and isolates the rectus abdominis muscle, whereas a core exercise can work the entire back & deep abdominal muscles. The plank, safest & most effective, helps to reinforce the stabilizing muscles, and can be used to combat back pain safely.


When doing specific ab exercises, train them with tension–increase the intensity, not the amount of time you train them.  Start off with exercises like:

Abdominal Holds

Bridges

Plank

Start the above with 20 counts, & increase by 5 counts each try.

Progress to..

Reverse Wood Chop

Single-Arm Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Row

Tip Place your free hand behind your back, palm facing up. Don't rotate or lift your torso as you row the weight.

Single-Arm Lunge

Many of the “gimmicks” you see on TV use professional fitness models to promote their product.  Most of the time, they have never used the product before & got in great shape with other methods – they might have even had liposuction done just before shooting the commercial, to look even better.

Besides getting a flatter stomach, you will probably have better posture and prevent neck & back injury at the same time.

Get Moving!

P.S. Don't Like exercising that much? Try Bellydancing!

Disclaimer: Consult your doctor before trying any of the above exercises.