Wellness Billionaire's Blog

Ask anyone what the hardest place on their body to remove fat from is and you’ll most likely get the same answer – their midsection. Despite the fact that there is no short cut to reducing abdominal fat, people everywhere are willing to do just about anything to achieve the elusive “six-pack” by  any means possible. They’re willing to try any diet and swallow any pill to do it, at great expense.

Part of the problem is there are just too many myths running around out there and nobody knows what to believe. Too much mis-information and too many characters trying to separate you from your money.

Let’s address a few of these myths.

Myth #1 – Doing sit-ups or crunches alone burns abdominal fat.

Unfortunately, if you have external fat laying on top of your stomach muscles, or any part of your body for that matter, working the muscles will not make the fat go away. In fact, there is only one thing that will – regular exercise and a healthy, low-fat diet.

Myth #2 – Abdominal Muscles are somehow different from your other muscles when it comes to training them.

You can’t do a heavy upper-body weightlifting regimen 7 days a week, and you can’t work your stomach muscles every single day either. You need to work them hard, 3 to 4 days a week, and take breaks to help them recover, just like you would any muscle.

There are also many different parts to the abdominal muscle network and you should pick out exercises that focus on them individually. Rectus abdominis refers to the “six-pack” everyone focuses on achieving, but there’s also both internal and external obliques, and the transverse abdominis, and different exercises target each muscle group.

Here is a list of some core strengthening abdominal exercises you may want to use to create a thorough “tummy workout”:

• Elbow to Opposite Knee Sit-Up While lying on your back, with your legs slightly bent, perform a sit up and each time you come up, touch your elbow to the opposite knee. Your hands should be on the sides of your head.
• Lying Crunches While lying on your back, with your legs slightly bent, elevated and crossed, bring the upper half of your body to your knees. Short and quick movement. Your hands should be on the sides of your head.
• Windmills With your legs shoulder-width apart, start from a standing position and reach down with your hand to the opposite foot. Extend the other arm vertically into the air. Repeat this “windmill” movement for the other side.
• Leg Raises Lying down, with your legs out straight and your hands at your side, raise your legs to 6 inches from the ground, count to 10, and back down to just off the ground. You cheaters can touch.
• Leg Raises While hanging from a bar, fully extended, lift both legs, with your knees bent, and bring your knees to your chest. Slowly return to a fully extended position. To hit your obliques, rotate about 60 degrees to each side as you come up, creating a “twisting” action.

You shouldn’t need to do a million reps on these exercises. If you perform them properly, you’ll feel them being put to the test quickly. When it comes to abdominals, quality of your movement means way more than quantity that you do.

Myth #3 – You need some special piece of equipment to develop killer abs.

This is completely untrue. You need discipline, proper form, and consistency.

Combine what you’ve learned here with a healthy diet that’s low in fat, and you’ll be amazed at your results. And how quickly that extra fat around your waist begins to disappear.

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