Health & Fitness
Belly ‘Flab’ Is More Than Just Belly Fat
There is more work to do in flattening a beer-belly than just cardio work or crunches. Author Greg Greene describes the third leg of the flattening process.
It is very clear to most people that having a beer-belly, or what I like to call the “badge of brewery appreciation” can never be a good thing to possess. What is not very clear is how to get rid of it and regain a flat belly.
It is well known that having excessive belly fat can contribute to a multitude of bad things like heart disease and stroke. That fact alone is sufficient motivation to eliminate as much of it as possible, but people also want the aesthetic value of a flat belly in their personal appearance.
The combination of ridding flab as well as fat is a tough one to achieve without knowing what to do and how to change your behavior.
Fighting belly flab is a battle that contains three fronts, pun intended. The two techniques most commonly referred to on this subject are reducing the surface fat by cardiovascular workouts and adding direct exercises, like crunches, that spot-specifically attack the strength deficiencies of the abdominal muscles and give you that six-pack look. Fact is, both of these techniques are crucial in gaining muscle definition there.
However, there is a third component that many are not aware of that has a great impact on flattening the stomach area, and improving our quality of life.
Retraining the use of those muscles.
We need to re-train the abdominal muscles, and to some extent, the lower back muscles, to incorporate their use in our everyday movements. Little do we realize that over time our use of these muscles tends to diminish, as we try to make our lives easier, when actually, the opposite takes place.
Using “core” muscles, those are the many abdominal, upper and lower back ones, to do things like reaching for a glass in the kitchen cabinet, bending down to pick up a book or other object, turning around in the driver’s seat, to see what’s behind a vehicle, is essential to total body function and use.
The problem is, we try to minimize that usage as we get older, thus un-training our muscles, little by little without realizing it. The result is that our stomach areas become flabby and stretch out beyond the rib cage. This allows our internal organs to also push outward via gravity. This can’t be good for their functions, either.
Re-training the core use will begin to ultimately reduce the space between the spine and the abdominal muscles, which is what you want to do. Putting these muscles back in position under the rib cage, instead of them protruding outside of it, is part of the process of flattening the stomach. It also re-establishes the relative position of certain internal organs that exist behind them, making them more efficient. That’s a good thing.
All three of these elements serve to 1) reduce the amount of surface fat (over the entire body, not just the abdominal region), 2) strengthen the midsection of your body for everyday motions, and 3) put your abdominal muscles back where they belong, directly under the rib cage.
You will eventually see a flat stomach with some muscle definition, after some time doing these things. Be patient, dedicated and consistent and success will come to you.
Make a commitment. COMMIT TO FIT!
