7 Solutions For A Flat Stomach!

“Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, for there is a time and a way for everything….” -Ecclesiastes 8:5-6a

Here are some of this week’s updates for members of Underground Fitness Revolution. Be sure to sign up for our Weekly Newsletter to get all the updates (fill in your first name and email address in the box at the top right part of the web site).

Fitness Quote of the Week:
“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” – Plato

Transformation Tip of the Week:
The reality is that everyone makes mistakes with their diet.

So there will be times you mess up and that’s cool – as long as you learn from it. Just get back on track as soon as possible. Don’t skip a meal or continue messing up because you think you failed.

Think of this analogy: When you get a flat tire, you don’t buy a new car. You fix or replace the flat tire and keep going!

Your nutrition is the same way. If you mess up, just get right back on track!

Nutrition Tips of the Week:
MORE Magazine listed five foods that fight belly fat.

1. Hot Tomatoes – The key is to increase your fruit and veggie consumption. A study showed that fruits and veggies high in carotenoids, beta carotene, alpha carotene and lycopene were linked to smaller waistlines. That is why MORE Magazine has listed Hot Tomatoes – they are high in all of these.

2. Mushrooms – The reason these are on the list is for their Vitamin D content. If you are deficient in Vitamin D, you may have a harder time losing weight (I also recommend supplementing with Vitamin D – 2,000-5,000 IU doses are best).

3. Rasberries – In addition to raspberries, I would like to add Oatmeal to MORE Magazine’s list. These are on the list for their fiber content. Two weeks ago, I posted the research findings from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that also showed that people who eat higher fiber diets have a smaller waist circumference (less belly fat) and weigh less.

4. Coconut Oil – A recent study in Brazil showed that women who ate coconut oil had a decrease in their waist circumference. Coconut eaters also had good HDL cholesterol. So start cooking your vegetables in coconut oil. You can also add coconut milk (no added sugars) to your protein shakes.

5. Alaska Pollock – Fish is an excellent source of protein and an important part of changing your body. A study showed that specifically Alaska Pollock decreased visceral fat on your belly. Add lean white fish to your diet if you want to lose belly fat including pollock, cod and orange roughy.

Add in the above five foods along with the nutrition recommendations in the Underground Nutrition Guidelines, decrease your stress levels, train hard during our sessions, watch your alcohol content and you should see your belly flattening in no time.

Fitness Tip of the Week:
There’s a reason football players, wreslters and MMA fighters can compete for prolonged periods without getting winded. Despite expanding all that energy, they also never lose significant amounts of muscle.

That’s because highly intense activities done in short bursts cause your body to release anabolic hormones that help burn fat and build muscle, while still strengthening your heart and lungs.

The best activity to build your wind without eating away your muscles is sprinting (or interval-based training using body-weight circuits like I sent you last week). Go to a hill, track or field and, after a thorough warm-up, run all out for 40-50 yards. Walk around until you feel you can go again and repeat.

After your first few workouts, add intensity and increase the number of sprints. If you’ve never sprinted before, it would be best to start with a hill as it restricts how fast you can go (helping to prevent a hamstring pull from overdoing it).

If you’re not in shape enough for sprints, try running or jogging as fast as you can. Or, you can use the interval training workouts I sent in last week’s newsletter that use body-weight circuits.

Reference: Men’s Fitness, Oct. 2009, p20

7 Solutions to Lose Belly Fat and Get a Flat Stomach

Common Abs Problem #1 – You have belly fat covering your abs

Solution: Interval training has been shown to help research subjects lose belly fat. You could almost say it causes spot reduction,
because that’s where you’ll lose belly fat first with intervals. Use the interval workouts I sent in last week’s newsletter during your “off” days from Underground Fitness Revolution for the best results.

Common Abs Problem #2 – You still have a lower belly pooch

Solution: Eat more fruits and vegetables. You may even want to replace calories from grains in your diet with almonds or other raw
nuts. Fruits, vegetables and raw nuts are all associated with weight loss and are one reason they are recommended in the Underground Nutrition Guidelines as listed in your Member Handbook.

Common Abs Problem #3 – You have no lower abs

Solution: Unconventional exercises like stability ball jackknives, side planks, and even planks can help you work your lower abs better and safer than traditional crunches.

Common Abs Problem #4 – You’re struggling to get sexy abs

Solution: This one will surprise you, but you better believe it. If you are lean but your abs just aren’t showing, you may just need to get a tan. Seriously, you’ll be shocked by how a tan can bring out your muscle definition all over your body.

Common Abs Problem #5 – You can’t keep a tight tummy

Solution: Make sure you brace your abs in every exercise you do, from traditional planks to body-weight squats, chin-ups, push-ups and even chest presses. By tightening your abs all the time, you’ll be able to keep a tight tummy all the time.

Common Abs Problem #6 – You don’t have obliques (or those sweet lower ab lines that run into your waistband like I do)

Solution: Well, of course you need low body fat to see your abs, but to help you build obliques and sexy diagonal lines that run into
your waistline, I suggest trying my favorite oblique move, the Cross-Body Mountain Climber. We did these during Saturday’s bonus workout!

Common Abs Problem #7 – You just don’t have abs

Solution: Again, we need to get rid of belly fat, but if you need to “pop out” your abs, an exercise like ab wheel rollouts, steep decline sit-ups or hanging leg raises will help you build up your abs.

Latest Research Studies:

Interesting resistance training weight-loss study.

Researchers at the University of Rhode Island found that weight training plus diet helped seniors lose almost 9 pounds of fat while the diet-only group lost less than one pound of fat.

In the study, they had 27 overweight and obese older (age 67 years) adults separated into 2 groups:

Group 1 followed the 10-week Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension for weight loss diet (DASH, n = 12)

Group 2 followed the DASH Diet plus moderate intensity resistance training (DASH-RT, n = 15).

Results:

Weight Loss – no difference between groups, but the average was over 6.6 pounds of weight loss.
DASH-RT = 3.6kg
DASH = 2kg

Body Fat Loss – The resistance training PLUS diet group lost about 9 pounds of fat, while the diet-only group lost less than 1/2 a pound of fat!
DASH-RT = 4.1kg
DASH = 0.2kg

Lean Mass Gains – Only the resistance training group gained lean mass. The diet group LOST lean mass.
DASH-RT = 0.8kg
DASH = -1.4kg

Reference: Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010 Feb 19.
Effect of moderate intensity resistance training during weight loss on body composition and physical performance in overweight older adults. Avila JJ, Gutierres JA, Sheehy ME, Lofgren IE, Delmonico MJ.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s updates. Get ready to hit it hard again this week!

Dedicated to your health and fitness,

Nate

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