Now that I have your attention, I’m going to let you in on a little trade secret.  Doing ab exercises or Pilates class is not the best way to burn belly fat and get abs you can see.  It’s not even close to the level of effectiveness of the strategies I’m about to reveal to you.  Many people think they can reduce belly fat and tone their abs by doing lots of abdominal exercise.  Unfortunately this is a training myth known as spot reduction.  Spot reduction assumes you can lose fat and tone a specific area by doing exercises that focus on that area.  Following this belief can significantly inhibit the return on your training efforts. You may create strong abdominal muscles but you’ll still never see them because there’s still a layer of fat surrounding them. Here are some of the most important elements in the fat burning formula that will help you summon the elusive abdominals and your best body ever.

Strength | Resistance Training 

Strength training or resistance training is the best form of exercise to help your body burn fat and increase metabolism.  Since you are breaking your tissues down when you perform strength training exercise, you’re body will continue to burn calories and fat long after your workout is over as it uses nutrients to repair the tissues and strengthen the muscles.  Plus as you tone all your muscles evenly over time the effects will multiply.  Your metabolism will increase as your body burns more calories and fat all the time to sustain your increased lean muscle tissue plus what you burn from individual strength training sessions.  Exercises that work large and multiple muscle groups work best.  Why?  because large muscles like legs and back use much more energy (calories, fat) than small muscle groups like biceps, or abs, and don’t worry your ab and core muscles actually do quite a bit of work during exercises like squats for legs.

Cardio

One of the most time effective cardio training techniques for fat burning is Interval Training .   Interval training isn’t for everyone, especially if you’re just starting out or have physical or medical restrictions.  You’ll need to build up first.  If you’re intermediate to advanced it works very well.  Interval training is a great cardio training strategy that will keep your body burning calories and fat hours after exercise is over.  As an added bonus H.I.I.T. (High Intensity Interval Training) accomplishes much more in less time.  22 minutes is an average recommended time plus a warm up and cool down. If done properly this 22 minutes of H.I.I.T. training  can be more effective than an hour of steady state, moderate pace cardio, like walking for an hour

Nutrition:

Following any crazy crash course fad diet, or relying on the latest supplement will certainly be a recipe for failure in the long run.  Eating healthy doesn’t need to mean starving or depriving yourself of the foods you love.  Be open- minded and willing to try new foods or recipes and you’ll find some healthy foods you really like. Develop an awareness of what you take in your body by reading and understanding food labels, and ingredients.  Choose more foods that are wholesome and natural with very few ingredients  Most importantly drink plenty of water and eat a wide variety of foods in moderation that include with meals including a mix of protein, carbohydrates (fiber),  fat (unsaturated w/ small amount of saturated).  Take time to enjoy your food rather than inhaling it to fill a void.  Keep in mind It takes 20 minutes or so for your stomach and brain to register how full you actually are.  Eat until your satisfied.  Space your meals evenly throughout the day.  By taking in a variety of nutrients and spreading well-balanced meals evenly throughout the course of the day you’ll feel fuller longer, decrease the chances of calories being stored as fat, and have much more energy throughout the day.

No magic potion or pill can take the place of proper nutrition and the right exercise program.   While this is a very broad overview these principles are the foundation of what I use to get my clients in great shape and are fitness lifestyle principles I've personally used for years.  If ever there were a magic formula for the body you desire this would be it.

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