Posted on August 09, 2013 by Jenny Cromack

Losing Abdominal Fat!

Losing body fat is great, but for many of our personal training clients their abdominals become a point of focus. Unfortunately due to the blood supply of the area and various hormonal factors, adipose tissue around the stomach is often one of the last places the body will utilise energy from. However with a few simple tips, combined with your motive8 healthy eating plan, the fat will drop of like water from a raincoat.

1. SLEEP!- Its simple no matter how many hours you think you need to sleep, going below 6.5 hours a night seriously effects your hormonal levels. In short, catabolic hormones are elevated causing weight gain in the form of body fat. Simply getting 8 hours a night has been shown to increase human growth hormones and help place the body in an anabolic state- this is where you want to be if you want to see that six pack!

2. HIIT- Use HIIT ‘High Intensity Interval Training’, to really strip the fat back. Use sprint variations, the most successful program I have seen In research has been 30 second maximum running sprints with 3 minute recoveries (x8 repetitions). However if you don’t like running, get on the rowing machine/ bike/ octane etc. Use this strategy on top of your resistance training up to 4 times per week.

3. SUGAR IS THE ENEMY- avoid it like the plague! Anything which causes insulin to spike will lead to fat gain. Numerous pieces of research have shown that a stable blood sugar level is associated with a lean physique. Not only will irregular blood sugar patterns lead to fat gain, but you’re likely to have patches of low energy and more illnesses.

4. VITAMIN C- when you train hard you secret more cortisol, vitamin c has been shown to help balance cortisol spikes helping you keep in an anabolic state. Furthermore more vitamin c is directly involved In making Carnitine, a compound used by the body to burn fat as fuel.

5. EAT GOOD FATS- it takes fat to burn fat! I know this sounds crazy but its true. Its sugars and carbohydrates that generally cause weight gain. Good fats are responsible for hormone production, help regulate metabolism and help the body utilize its current fat stores. For more information on good fat sources click the link http://www.m8north.co.uk/why-fat-is-super-at-helping-you-loose-fat/

Now nowhere did I mention doing crunches, often that 6 pack is achieved through addressing your lifestyle and diet rather than doing countless number of crunches.