How Do You Reduce A Fat Belly?

Is a Fat Stomach Unhealthy?

Yes. For people with a BMI of 34 or less, a fat belly is regarded as an additional health risk. Fatty tissue which is stored around the stomach and abdomen (sometimes called intra-abdominal, or visceral fat) carries a greater health risk than fat located in the lower body around the butt and thighs. Some health studies show that abdominal fat leads to raised blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, high blood sugar, insulin resistance syndrome (metabolic syndrome X) and heart disease. Because of this, some experts believe that waist circumference and fat-distribution is more important than your actual weight in predicting future health risks.

What Causes a Fat Belly?

Where we store fat (surplus calories) is largely a combination of gender, age and genetic inheritance. Men tend to store fat around their middle (apple shape), whereas women typically store fat around the pelvic region, hips, butt and thighs (pear shape). However, women are prone to develop an apple shape in mid-life, after menopause. This is because the female hormones are present in smaller amounts and so their shape tends to become more 'male'.

Stress and Stomach Fat

Some health studies show that abdominal fat can develop as a result of stress. This is because the hormone cortisol is released during stress, and a high level of cortisol in the body appears to stimulate the storage of fat around the belly and abdomen. Researchers at Yale University studied 60 women and found that the more stress they were under, the more fat they stored around their stomachs. So it appears that a fat belly is most likely to develop in stressed men of any age, and older stressed women.

How to Prevent a Fat Belly?

If you are prone to store fat around your middle, the healthiest solution is to maintain a normal weight. By matching your calorie intake to your calorie needs and prevent weight gain, you will prevent the development of any excess fat.

How to Reduce a Fat Stomach?

However, if you already have a fat belly, the best option is to follow a healthy weight loss diet, combined with fitness exercises such as aerobics (to burn extra calories) and a stomach-toning workout to help tighten and strengthen abdominal muscles. That said, reducing a fat stomach takes time - especially if you are an apple-shape. Despite what commercials say, there is no diet-plan or type of exercise that can "target" your fat stomach. So please don't get impatient. Your fat belly will disappear, I promise.

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BALL TRAINING FOR ABS

While the Ball may permit a greater range of movement compared with certain other types of abdominal training, the fact that it deforms considerably when you lie across it means that it does not offer the same range of trunk action as full-range trunk extension-flexions based upon PNF patterns. As research has shown, exercise done on a ball will increase the activation of the peripheral muscles, but decrease it in the core muscles, so that, for an equivalent load, ball crunches offer a smaller degree of trunk action and abdominal muscle force production than standing cable crunches.

Why is it that so many people still think that crunches and sit-ups have to be done in a supine position?  After all, there are many people with lumbar pain who find that any form of supine situps over a ball, flat on a mat or with posterior pelvic tilt are very uncomfortable or painful.  The standing version can be used on a cable system using all variants of the PNF patterns recommended for trunk extension and flexion.  Moreover, the standing version of situps and crunches enhance the sort of functional stability which one requires in so many sports in which you are standing rather than lying flat on your back.
If you wish to combine ball training with crunches, then try doing cable crunches while standing on a ball (wedged so that it does not roll), wobble board or large inner tube.  Tell me how you enjoy that variation!  Later on add some more proprioceptive training by doing that same exercise whilst wearing a blindfold. (Editors Note: For those who have asked me how to perform this exercise, Dr. Siff is joking!) Even if  you learn to stabilise more efficiently, you will still fail to produce the same degree of force and trunk range of action as in the standing version of situps and crunches on a cable machine. By all means use the Ball for training to provide some variation for those who may need or enjoy it, but never be misled as to its scope and limitations.

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Incline Barbell Bench Press

How to start

• Lie on an incline bench angled at 30-60° (the steeper the incline, the greater the stress on the upper chest).
• Hold the bar with your hands equal distance apart from the end, keep your palms facing forwards. Remove the bar from the  rack  and position it directly over your collarbone with your arms fully straight.

The right movement of the exercise

• Bend your arms, allowing your elbows to travel down to the sides, and slowly lower the bar down to your upper part of your chest.
• The bar should just touch the upper part of your chest below your collarbone. Hold for a 1-2 seconds.
• Push the bar back to the starting position.

Tips on Incline Barbell Bench Press

• Do not move your back or arch it when you push the bar upwards. This can lead to lower-back strain.
• Do not bounce the bar off your chest ,this risk in injuries.
• Keep the bar straight and take  few seconds  during the start if needed to adjust the bar position.
• Keep your grip firm on the bar which can lead to better lifting and will keep the momentum of your exercise constant

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Barbell Bench Press

How to start

• Lie on a flat bench,  with an attached barbell rack. If you have an excessive arch in your back, place your feet on the end of the bench or on a low step.
• Hold the bar, equal distance apart from both sides keeping your  palms facing forward.
• Remove the bar from the barbell rack and position it directly over your chest with your arms fully straight and do not lock your arms.

The Movement Of The Exercise

• Slowly lower the bar down to your chest moving your elbows down and away from the body. The bar should just touch your upper chest  above your chest nipples. Hold for 1-2 sec.
• Push the bar upwards over your shoulders to the starting position.

Tips on barbell bench press

• Keep your hips firm on the bench,lifting the hips can lead to lower-back strain.
• Do not move or arch your back as you push the bar upwards .
• Do not bounce the bar off your chest as it can decrease the amount of chest work  and can risk injury to the chest muscles.
• Keep your grip firm on the bar which can lead to better lifting and will keep the momentum of your exercise constant.
• Keep the bar straight and take  few seconds  during the start if needed to adjust the bar position.

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Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

How to start

• Sit on an incline bench, angled at 30-60° (the steeper the incline, the greater the stress on the upper chest).
• Pick up  dumbbells  and hold them firmly.
• Lie on the bench, at the same time bringing the dumbbells to shoulder level. Your palms should face forwards.

Movement of the exercise

• Press the dumbbells  over your upper chest until your arms are fully straight. Hold for a 1-2 sec.
• Lower the dumbbells slowly  shoulder level.
• Pause for a count 2  before pressing them Up again.

Tips On Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

• Press the dumbbells straight over your chest, not  over your head.
• Do not  incline  the bench too high otherwise this  will lead to less effect on the chest muscles

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Pec Dec Flye

How To Start

• Sit on the  machine, ensuring your  back is pressed against the back support and adjusting the seat height so that your elbows and shoulders are level with the bottom of the pads.
• Place your forearms against the pads. Check that your shoulders and elbows make a horizontal line.

Movement of the exercise

• Move the pads towards each other until they just touch in front of your chest.
• Hold for 2 secs ; then slowly return the pads to the starting position.

Tips on Pec Dec Flye

• Do not curl your shoulders forwards as you bring the pads together.
• Move the pads in a smooth arc – do not jerk the pads together as this reduces the work on the pectorals.
• Contract your pectorals hard at the mid­ point

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Dumbbell Flye

How to start

• Lie your back on a flat bench. If you have an  arch in your back, place your feet on a small step so that your knees are bent at right angle to your body
• Hold a dumbbell in both hands and hold them above your chest with your arms straight and palms facing each other.

Movement of the exercise

• Slowly lower the dumbbell out to your sides in a semi-circular motion. Keep your elbows  slightly bent  throughout the  motion.
• When your upper arms reach shoulder level and you feel a strong stretch in your shoulders, return the dumbbells to the starting position, following the same motion.

Tips On Dumbbell Flye

• Do not allow your upper arms to go much below shoulder level as this could create stress on the shoulder joints and risk muscle injuries or tendon tears.
• Maintain the slight bend in your elbows. Don’t allow them to bend to 90° otherwise this turns the movement into a dumbbell press.

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Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

How to start

• Sit on an incline bench, angled at 30-60° (the steeper the incline, the greater the stress on the upper chest).
• Pick up  dumbbells  and hold them firmly.
• Lie on the bench, at the same time bringing the dumbbells to shoulder level. Your palms should face forwards.

Movement of the exercise

• Press the dumbbells  over your upper chest until your arms are fully straight. Hold for a 1-2 sec.
• Lower the dumbbells slowly  shoulder level.
• Pause for a count 2  before pressing them Up again.

Tips On Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

• Press the dumbbells straight over your chest, not  over your head.
• Do not  incline  the bench too high otherwise this  will lead to less effect on the chest muscles

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