I wanted to share a common misconception about fitness:

How we flatten our abs.

My desire to write a post about how to flatten your abs was spurred by a couple of questions I got last week at our personal training studio in San Jose. One was from a new client, and one was from someone who’s been training with us for years.

So, it goes to show you that you don’t have to be a “newbie” exerciser to get confused about “best practices”  🙂 .

The question from the new client was, “What foods should I be eating if I want a flatter stomach?

The question from the longtime client was, “What exercises can you add to my program to help me lose more belly fat?”

If you’ve been reading prior posts about our exercise and nutrition philosophies at lifeSport Fitness, you can probably guess how I answered both questions….

“Squats.” 😀

You see, a lean midsection comes from a combination of the right selection of full body exercises and small tweaks in your nutrition.

Doing endless amounts of sit ups and crunches is not going to burn belly fat.

It’s just going to make your belly sore. Worst case, it might make your back or shoulder problems WORSE, which is why we don’t program tons of crunch-type exercises into the programs we write for clients at lifeSport Fitness.

Consistently doing strength training – particularly multi-joint exercises like squats and dead lifts – will burn lots of calories and add lean mass to your frame, increasing your ability to burn stored fat for fuel.

These big, multi-joint exercises force your core to engage. Do them enough, and voila — your belly gets flatter and firmer!!!

 As for the “right” foods to eat to flatten your abs:  Eating a certain type of food is not going to melt your belly fat, either, though there are plenty of people on the internet who will be happy to sell you such nonsense (or they’ll try to sell you a “fat burning” supplement).

Eating whole, minimally processed foods, minimizing added sugar, limiting processed wheat products,  controlling your stress, and being in a slight calorie deficit will cause that stubborn belly fat to disappear.

This is all simple stuff that we often “forget.”

Remember, keep it simple and do the basics consistently.

Committed to your success,

Coach Becky