Monday 30 May 2011

Beachcamp: Ab attack

Something both men and women covet when it comes to beach bodies is nice abs. However with our stressful lives it is more common for city folk to lay their fat around their middle. This is due to the fact that when under stressful conditions we produce more of the stress hormone cortisol which encourages fat to be deposited closer to your organs as emergency fuel reserves and this is also encouraged by eating foods that stress the body such as caffeine, sugar and alcohol.

Fortunately the preceding Beachcamp rules will help reduce stress from food on the body, but in terms of reducing your cortisol levels it's also vital to dedicate time each day and week to active relaxation if you need to shift your love handles. For example chilling out on the sofa (no TV) for 10 minutes or doing a yoga class.

Nice abs are a combination of not holding excess fat around the middle and having muscle definition. So whilst you won't see a six pack til the excess fat is shifted, toning exercises are still worthwhile. A six pack isn't de rigeur for the ladies, but for the guys look no further than the body for life training programme for amazing abs in 12 weeks (check out the transformation photos for inspiration): http://bodyforlife.com/library/exercise/weight-training
For a less muscular more toned stomach for the ladies pilates classes strengthen inner core muscles, and you don't need to be a gym member, there are plenty of good dvds out there. Tracy Anderson Method
workout has ab exercises specifically designed for creating a toned flat stomach rather than a six pack.

No comments:

Post a Comment