How The Busy Women Can Lose Belly Fat

How Busy Women Lose Belly fat

 

The answer to the age-old question of “How Does A Busy Women Lose Belly Fat?” is…

1 – Stop thinking doing hundreds of crunches and other ab specific exercises just doing ab specific exercises are not going to create enough of a metabolic response in your body for you to lose belly fat.

I often get asked what the best types of exercises and workouts are for losing belly fat in order to get six pack abs. The problem is that most people who need to lose belly fat looking to try to uncover their abs are searching for some “miracle six pack ab workout  that is going to slash the fat off their abs in no time.

The thing is… they are going about the problem entirely the wrong way! The truth is that you don’t lose belly fat by doing ab workouts.

The problem is that focusing most of your time and effort on abdominal exercises and abs workouts to try to flatten your stomach, lose belly fat and bring out 6-pack abs is simply wasting your time from doing the correct workout programs that will acutally reduce your belly fat and total body fat for good.

If I were to choose an answer as to what the best exercises are for losing belly fat, my answer would include full body exercises such as the following:

2 – Various forms of squats, lunges, deadlifts, clean & presses, snatches, swings, presses and pulls, mountain climbers, sprinting, etc.

These types of full body exercises would encompass a much higher percentage of the workouts I would design instead of abs exercises directly targeting the midsection. The way you combine those full body exercises into a strategic workout that maximizes your metabolism is also very important.

Don’t get me wrong… I do recommend a certain amount of exercises that directly target the abs and core, but these are only a small fraction of the programs I design for my clients as your time is better spent focusing on the full body exercises that stimulate the greatest hormonal and metabolic changes within the body. In addition, a side-effect of working out using mostly full body multi-joint combo exercises are that you indirectly work your entire midsection even though you are not specifically targeting the abs.

Keep in mind that the most important factor for losing belly fat to see your abs is actually in the nutrition arena. No matter how hard you workout, if your diet is full of junk, then your abdominals will be covered with ugly fat. Nutrition is without a doubt the “king of getting a six pack”.

So let’s clear this up for good…

Stop wasting so much of your time focusing on situps, crunches, leg raises, and all those silly worthless “ab contraptions” in your efforts to try to develop 6-pack abs. Instead focus on high intensity full body lifts using combination multi-joint exercises all strategically combined into highly effective fat loss workouts. Couple that with a healthy diet full of natural unprocessed whole foods as close to their natural state as possible, and those elusive six-pack abdominals will yours in no time!

Check out below for more of my key strategies for getting flat sexy 6-pack abs for life.

Learn more about my secret strategies for losing stubborn stomach fat at the internet’s authority for Getting Flat Six Pack Abs   Ab Truth

For Six Pack Abs Use Compound Exercises An Ab Truth

Body Part Isolation vs. Complex Movements in Strength Training
Working as a fitness professional, there is one type of question I get all the time that shows that many people are missing the big picture regarding the benefits of strength training. This popular question usually goes something like this:

“What exercise can I do to isolate my _______ (insert your muscle of choice – abs, quads, biceps, triceps, etc)?”

It doesn’t matter which muscle someone is asking about, they always seem to be asking how to ‘isolate’ it. My first response to this question is always – “Why in the world would you want to isolate it?”

The first thing I try to teach my clients is that the body does not work well in muscle isolation. Rather, it works better in movements along a kinetic chain; that is, large portions of the body assist other portions of the body in completing a complex movement.

In fact, there really is no such thing as true muscle isolation. There is almost always a nearby muscle group that will assist in some way with whatever movement you are doing.

 However, this article compares attempting to ‘isolate’ body parts via single-joint exercises to the much more effective strategy of performing multi-joint complex movements.

When you attempt to ‘isolate’ muscles by performing single-joint exercises, you are actually creating a body that is non-functional and will be more prone to injury. Essentially, you are creating a body that is a compilation of body parts, instead of a powerful, functional unit that works together.

Now if you really want to end up hobbling around in a body bandaged up with joint problems, tendonitis, and excess body fat, then by all means, continue trying to ‘isolate’ body parts.

 On the other hand, if you would rather have a lean, muscular, injury-free, functional body that works as a complete powerful unit to perform complex movements (in athletics or even everyday tasks), then you need to shift your focus away from muscle isolation.

Believe me, focusing on how well your body functions will give you the side effect of a body that looks even better than it would have if you focused on muscle isolation.

For example, take a look at the physiques of any NFL running backs, wide receivers, or even world class sprinters. Trust me when I say that these guys pretty much NEVER train for muscle isolation (their strength coaches wouldn’t be crazy enough to let them), yet they are absolutely ripped to shreds! Just look at guys like Maurice Green or Terrell Owens and tell me who wouldn’t want a physique like those guys.

Another benefit to moving away from the ‘muscle isolation’ mindset to a more ‘complex movement’ mindset is that you will find it much easier to lose body fat.

 The reason is that by focusing more on multi-joint complex movements as opposed to single-joint muscle isolation, you not only burn a lot more calories during each workout, but you also increase your metabolic rate, and stimulate production of more fat burning and muscle building hormones like growth hormone and testosterone.

Let’s look at an example. The machine leg extension is a single joint exercise that works mainly the quadriceps, can potentially cause knee joint instability in the long run, and doesn’t even burn that many calories.

On the other hand, exercises like squats, lunges, step-ups, and deadlifts are all multi-joint complex movements that work hundreds of muscles in the body (including the quadriceps) as a functional unit, create more stable and strong joints in the long run (when done properly), and also burn massive quantities of calories compared to the single-joint exercises. 

See Also

Ab Truth for effective and efficient ab exercises and workouts

Target Heart Rate is Useless for Losing Body Fat

Target Heart Rate is Useless for Losing Body Fat
By Mike Geary and Craig Ballantyne 

I co-wrote this target heart rate article with Craig Ballantyne because we want to get the message out to everyone who keeps struggling with this outdated mentality that they must be in some sort of “fat burning zone” if they want to stand any chance of losing body fat with their workouts. We’ll show you why targeting a specific heart rate to be in this so-called fat burning zone is actually the opposite of what you should be focusing on in your workouts if you truly want to get lasting fat loss results.

One of the worst myths in the fitness industry is that you need to maintain a specific heart rate range in the fat burning zone in order to lose fat. But this is simply not true. Unfortunately, this false belief leads people to choose low intensity steady state cardio routines that are ineffective and cause most people a major lack of results from their workouts.

The quicker you get rid of the “target fat burning heart rate = the best workout” mentality, the faster you will actually start to get real results with fat loss and changing the shape of your body for good.

In the Turbulence Training workouts, you actually burn more fat and more total calories when you are OUT of the gym due to the high-intensity and variable intensity nature of the training methods in these programs. This phenomenon is not due to the elevated heart rate you experience during the workout (even though your heart rate will be increased from the supersets and intervals), but rather from the metabolic and hormonal response you achieve from the more effective workout compared to your ineffective “fat burning zone” workout.

Over the last 10 years, scientific research has indicated a couple of very important things to us about exercising for body fat loss. First of all, lifting heavier weights while exercising leads to a higher caloric consumption by the body in the period for about 1-2 days following the workout when compared to lifting light weights with high repetitions. So that’s why 6-8 repetitions per set is better than 12-15 reps per set when it comes to stimulating the metabolism for losing fat permanently. That’s one of the cornerstones of the types of training routines in programs that actually get results, like Turbulence Training.

Another important aspect we have learned from scientific research in recent years is that highly variable interval-type training is far superior to slow, steady-pace cardio exercise for fat loss and post-exercise induced calorie burning. In the long run, if you focus on the internal metabolic response your body is getting from your workout routines, instead of how many calories you burn during some sort of magical “target fat burning heart rate zone”, you will achieve MUCH better fat loss results. So not only is it more result-producing, but it is also more time-efficient to use short high-intensity interval training workouts instead of slow, long, steady-pace cardio sessions.

The only time you might need to know your specific heart rate is during the recovery period of the interval training. It is important to take enough time during your recovery intervals in order for your heart rate to drop back down significantly (allow it drop to approximately less than 60% of your max heart rate).

That way you are able to get more quality work done when it counts. You do not want to start your next high-intensity interval too soon, nor do you want to exercise too hard during your recovery intervals.

All of these details are provided in the interval training guidelines within the Turbulence Training program. And we’ll show you how to properly structure your intervals so that you allow enough recovery time between each. With these guidelines, you do not have to worry about monitoring your target heart rate or anything fancy like that. It’s just not necessary. Just follow the TT instructions, and you will do great.

So here’s the bottom line:

If you want to start actually getting the fat loss results you’ve been wanting for so long, do not worry so much about your target fat buring heart rate zone during exercise. Instead, make sure that you are working at a high-intensity and a variable intensity (according to your individual capabilities of course) during each weight lifting and interval training session.

The TT workout guidelines will give you all of the details you need on the specific rest periods to use between supersets and intervals. With these guidelines, you will start to see vastly improved results from your workouts within weeks of implementing the changes.

See Also

Interval Fat Loss Training free workouts and all the lowdown on interval training.

Ab Truth not your typical workouts for 6 pack abs

Six Pack Abs Or Beer Belly? It’s Your Choice

In today’s issue of Lean-Body Fitness Secrets Ezine, I’m going to answer a question I get quite often. Many people find that they can stick to a reasonably healthy diet during the week, but think that they’re totally blowing everything on the weekends.

Below is a question I just received recently from a customer and some ideas I came up with for him. I think you’ll get some good ideas from this on how to deal with the issue of not letting the weekend wreck your whole program.

Q: “Hi Mike, I haven’t emailed in a while, so I wanted to update you. I haven’t missed a workout yet and I just finished the third week on your program. I am feeling pretty good, and can already see a bit of a difference in the mirror. I’m still far from a 6 pack, but I’m making progress and I’ll definitely get there.

I would give myself a grade of B-, because during the week I do very well with my routine and diet, but on the weekends I drink too much beer (empty calories) and my diet suffers a bit with eating out and weekend activities. But all in all it is going well, and I think I’ll be a great success story for your testimonials. If you have any nuggets of wisdom or just any suggestions on how to deal with the weekends, I’m all ears.”
-Brandon, Saint Louis, MO

A: Good to hear from you Brandon, and it sounds like you’re on your way. I can fully relate to your issue of doing well on the weekdays and then drinking a lot of beer and eating late night junk on the weekends. Here’s what I’ve done over the years that helps to keep the lbs off while still enjoying the weekend social scene that involves alcohol and eating out.

If you’re gonna drink, try and keep it to light beers or hard alcohol mixed with something non-caloric like club soda. *By the way, tonic water is NOT calorie-free like club soda… it actually has just as much sugar as regular soda.

Anyway, those are the options that would do the least caloric damage, but realize that you’re going to take in a TON of extra empty calories any time you drink more than a couple alcoholic drinks.

Also, you’re probably going to end up at restaurants and bar situations where everyone is getting deep fried bar food. In this case, whatever you can do, ALWAYS avoid anything deep fried. My best option is I get a burger or grilled chicken sandwich and replace the fries (I call them devil sticks) or potato chips (which are also deep fried) with some sort of steamed veggies or a side salad. That way you eliminate the most evil portion of the meal (the fries) but you still enjoy your burger (which isn’t really all that bad) or your chicken sandwich.

Also, if you’re doing things right 5-6 days/week, don’t stress too much over a bad day or two on the weekends, as long as you keep your calories reasonable and always avoid anything deep fried and any sodas as well. As I’ve said before, anything loaded with trans fats (like deep fried food) or high fructose corn syrup (in sodas) are the absolute worst things you can put in your body.

If you’re serious about your body and health, these should never be consumed, not even occasionally. Trans fats and HFCS are the only two items that I’m a stickler on personally. I’ll eat as much of anything and everything else, at least occasionally, like pizza, burgers, ice cream…you name it! But I’ll never even touch a HFCS-laden soda or something deep fried in trans fats. They are pure poison in my mind.

As for working out, just follow the general guidelines in my book and the routine I set up for you, and make changes as described in the book when you start to plateau. Also, enjoy the good weather and get outside a couple times a week to do wind sprints. This is one of the easiest ways to get rid of the fat. It doesn’t matter if you can’t handle all out sprints just yet, but just run as hard and as fast as you can for 50-100 yard dashes, rest 1-2 minutes, and repeat 5-10 times. It’s one of the best workouts you can get in only about 10-20 minutes total. Mix those a couple days/week with your normal strength training routines on other days and you’ll be kicking a** in no time flat!

Alright, that’s all for today. Brandon (from above) is just one of my great customers who is now motivated like crazy after reading through my Truth about Six Pack Abs Program. Because of the fact that he’s armed himself with the knowledge and motivation to do it, he’s well on his way to enjoying a lean, rock hard body for life!

Diet Tips For Six Pack Abs

In this article, I’ve posted the “diet tips for six pack abs” portion of an interview done recently with Mike Geary . Enjoy! Here it is…

CB: And finally Mike, 1 or 2 of your top secret nutrition tips for carving out those six pack abs. Open your vault of info!

MG: Well Craig, I think you’d agree that there has never been a more confusing time regarding proper nutrition for consumers. Every so called “expert” out there seems to disagree and contradict each other on what’s the best way to eat for fat loss and overall good health.

One of the most important messages I try to teach my readers in this world of heavy confusion is that your diet doesn’t need to conform to any of the fad diets… you don’t need to go “low carb” or “low fat”, or high or low anything for that matter to be successful in losing enough body fat to get lean enough to be able to see your abs. I like to try to simplify things for my readers. I think that balance is the key to success along with eating a diet that is made up of nutrient dense foods in their natural state (as unprocessed as possible).

In general, it is the heavy processing of foods that makes it wreak havoc inside our bodies. Most foods in their natural unprocessed state are inherently good for us. Of course there are always exceptions… a salad of poison ivy leaves is “natural and unprocessed” but certainly would not be good for us!

I’ll leave your readers with a couple of the most important aspects of nutrition and diet that help to get you lean for life (and have any chance of getting those abs to show)…

1. Get enough quality protein in the daily diet – not only does it have a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat (so you burn more calories digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is satisfied longer. Plus it’s a building block for maintaining and building lean muscle… And remember that the amount of lean muscle you carry is one of the main factors for controlling your metabolism.

2. Think fiber! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all of your carbohydrate intake is from higher fiber sources like vegetables, fruits, and high fiber unrefined grains. Try to avoid refined sugars and refined grains as that is one of the main reasons so many people struggle with body fat. I personally don’t eat many grains as I prefer to get most of my carbs from veggies and fruits, but I am a bit of a fan of sprouted grains. I generally recommend looking for carbohydrate sources that have at least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total carbs. Remember that fiber helps fill you up and also slows down the glycemic response of the foods you eat, all beneficial for getting lean.

3. Don’t be afraid to eat fat! Many people try to go way too low on their fat intake in their diet and this can negatively affect hormone levels in your body as well as causing more cravings. Try to eat enough healthy fats daily. Good sources are all nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, organic meats and eggs, coconuts and virgin coconut oil. On that note, saturated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood, even by many nutritionists and other health professionals. Yes they are composed highly of saturated fats, but are actually beneficial (but that’s way beyond the scope of this article).

4. Avoid the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:

*artificial trans fats from margarines, shortening, and hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods

*high fructose corn syrup, which is in almost all sweetened products on the market

Again, if you avoid processed foods, it becomes easy to avoid these two worst offenders in our food supply.

I always contend that once you get a handle on these 4 main points of your diet detailed above, the rest starts to take care of itself as you gain control over your appetite, blood sugar levels, hormone levels, etc. It all falls into place, and you eventually gain total control over how lean you want to get. Gain control of this part of your life, and those abs may be showing in no time!

Eating the right foods and doing the right exercises will get you to your fat loss goals and bring out those six pack abs.