Simple Tips on How to Get a Toned Stomach

Getting flat cut abs takes science as well as timed nutrition and the right fitness mindset. There are people out there who will tell you that this exercise works the lower abs or upper abs or the middle of the abs, when truthfully you only can work the abs.

Your midsection is one big muscle. There are two areas to your midsection, your Rectus Abdominis and your internal and external obliques. You can focus your energy on hitting each one of these with different areas with many different movements.

Janda sit-ups

Hitting the Rectus Abdominis can be done by doing Janda sit-ups. These are done with the calf muscles putting pressure onto a training partner’s hands or a sturdy bench or apparatus.

You use a breathing technique that is called “Bending the flame.” With this you breathe out before crunching up and trying to breathe just enough that would bend the flame on a candle, not put it out. By putting pressure on an object with your calves it helps to release your hip flexors so your abs are the only muscles working. This movement, along with hanging leg raises and variations of this movement, are excellent for hitting the abs and taking your hip flexors out of the equation.

This is not an easy movement and you will have a tough time in the beginning if you are doing these correctly. Do not use any momentum to get off the ground; instead you can use an exercise band.

As you get stronger use an easier and easier band so that your abs are doing most of the work. On the way back down take it slow and do not slam into the ground. If you do not have any bands you can do negatives, where you help yourself to the top position and lower yourself to the ground as slowly as possible.

Full Contact Twist

Most people think that twisting motions will hit the obliques hard but actually the twisting motion only works the sides of your body in a minimal way. To hit the obliques try a movement called full contact twist.

The traditional twisting motion is putting something behind your neck or on your chest and turning from side to side. Full contact twist is down with an Olympic bar or broom stick or weighted straight bar. Hold it at a 45 degree angle in front of your face just beneath your chin.

Your fingers should be interlocked with your palms facing one another. From here, lower the weight to either your right or left side and let your toes pivot but try to keep your arms straight. Once you get far enough to one side take a deep breath “bend the flame” and return to the starting position. Then switch sides and continue for three sets of five repetitions.

The biggest thing that people need to understand when looking to get a toned stomach is that no matter how developed your abs are, if you have too much fat in that area they will not be seen.

This means that you have to be extremely focused on your nutrition. The lines on your abdomen that give you the six-pack look are actually muscle fibers that come out due to nutrition. Underneath our bodies on every human being on the planet there is an extremely well developed six pack, but getting those to poke through the skin is the tough part. You need your abs to be strong enough, big enough as well as decrease the amount of fat in your abdominal section to create the well-toned, six pack look. Nutrition is different for everyone so you have to figure out what works best for you. Some people have an easy time losing weight on a high protein diet while others put weight on.

Getting a well-developed abdominal section will take work and focus. It is not impossible and you do not have to starve yourself. What you have to do is find the correct balance between nutrition and fitness. Find the right exercises that focus on your abs as a whole instead of hitting the higher and lower sections. Bring in some movements for the obliques; do not over train your abs because they are just like every other muscle. Stick to lots of sets of small amounts of reps and put your focus on the tension of the abs. If you figure out the formula for yourself, you will be well ahead of most gym enthusiasts. Good luck and remember: commitment will help achieve goals while motivation will only get you through the day.