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So, if you take my advice from the other day and put more fiber in your diet, you’ll be using the toilet more often. And if you are implementing my ab exercise advice from a couple weeks ago, along with the fiber, then you are truly on your way to sexy flat abs! So what more is there to do to get a flat stomach?
Well, I thought you may be interested in knowing that there is now a new kind of toilet which will allow you to “dump” the remains of your fiber-filled meals while also building and strengthening back and ab muscles. Makers of the toilet say it has a yoga-like effect on the body.
Interestingly enough, this new age commode functions like a squat toilet. Imagine that. All this time that my closed mind has been associating squat toilets with poverty and third world countries, I should have been envious of the opportunity to kill two birds with one er…poop. Nothing like relieving yourself while conditioning your core muscles, huh ladies?
If you still think this is a joke, see for yourself at Gizmodo.com
When I was in high school, I started developing a strong interest in healthy eating, and somehow came across a book called The F Diet. (No, not the F#$^* diet, the Fiber diet).
Putting aside the issue of what a huge geek I had to have been at 18, to find this book interesting enough to read it cover to cover, I must say, it made a lasting impression. Hell if I was going to let my colon rot in putrified waste matter! I began incorporating fiber into everything I ate. I made psyllium (a second cousin to sawdust) muffins as snacks, I sprinkled oat bran on everything I could, and put it in smoothies, and I ate Rye Crisps like they were potato chips. Yes, I know - Nerd Girl.
I don’t eat nearly that much fiber anymore, but I should. Most Americans get far less fiber in our diets than is recommended, with the average person consuming about 14 grams. We should all be consuming between 20-38 grams per day, in order to maintain optimal digestive and colon health. Fiber is thought to help in cancer prevention, but eating it is also a great way to achieve weight loss goals! It fills you up and staves off hunger and causes you to eat less calories throughout the day.
Also, fiber keeps your system free of junk by sweeping it out, reducing bloating and fat buildup. Therefore, some say fiber is the ticket to a flat stomach.
One of the easiest ways to accomplish the feat of consuming more fiber, is to eat a high fiber cereal in the morning. Most people find cereal to be a quick and easy breakfast option, so why not choose the brands with the highest fiber, if you’re already eating cereal anyway?
Here is a great comparison chart of all the top fiber cereals which will help you make the best choices!
I recently received a question from a reader about which attachment to use at the gym for the tricep pulldown machine in order to get the best results for toning the back of the arm. The answer is that all of the attachments work a slightly different part of the muscle so it may be beneficial to mix it up from workout to workout.
The rope attachment allows you to squeeze the very back of the muscle as you bring the ends down and outward. The straight bar with normal and reverse grip, work different angles so that you can isolate the inner and outer parts of your tri. Some people feel that the EZ bar allows them to use more weight, which may be useful if you are trying to build more muscle mass.
Remember, it is easy to get in a rut, and as they say, vareiety is the spice of life - mix it up to keep it interesting and to keep your muscles guessing! One last piece of advice, whichever one you choose, try not to imitate the model’s clothing selection while doing them - purple and green just don’t match! It’s possible that triceps respond better when wearing gym attire that matches. (Don’t quote me on that).
Fashion tip: see number ten on my list of making fitness fun: trade grumpy and frumpy for sassy and classy. Try Femme Athletic matching sports bras and workout bottoms.
Recently I was feeling restless for a new place to live - I was craving more windows, more light, more space, wood floors. All I needed was a good excuse to overlook the time and expense of a move to justify looking around at other places. A few plumbing problems later, I had my excuse.
I didn’t want to move far- same zip code even - just to a different building. So I spent a couple weekends looking at other places in nearby neighborhoods. But the more I looked, the more I was reminded of the things I love about my current place that I couldn’t find at any of the new places - the dog park and all the friendly dog lovers in the neighborhood, my quiet street-free of traffic noise, (with an atypical amount of free parking nearby), my intimate, small complex with friendly tenants, private garage, pool……..
Focusing on the positive things made me realize I did not need an entirely new place to live right this instant - I just needed to make a few changes to my current place. A little redecorating and de-cluttering I thought, is all it would take to be happy in this apartment that I already loved.
My life the last couple weeks have been crazy busy with family, travel, work, love life and training obligations that have made it difficult to plan my meals in order to fulfill my yin-yang-balancing diet promises to my Chinese Witch Doctor.
So rather than break the diet and mess up the progress I had made on balancing my chi (yes, I know it sounds soooo new age), some days I ended up subsisting on an apple or an orange for an entire meal. It was quick, easy to transport, and could be eaten en route to the gym or airport or wherever!
However, you can only do that so long before your muscles say: “Hey bitch-feed me more or quit making me do so many damn lunges and ab exercises on that freakin’ ball.”
Okay, ladies (and gents)- as promised, I had Nik Herold, personal trainer and owner of Fitness Doctors, write up his three favorite exercises for strengthening your Transverse Abdominal area. Remember, these are the smaller, support muscles that help tighten your pelvic floor muscles, help give you a flat belly, and help in preventing back injuries. Add these to your gym routine to get that flat stomach before summer! Here they are:
The other day, Suzy mentioned in her Better Sex With Kegels article, the importance of strengthening your transverse abdominals as part of your conditioning regimen for your pelvic floor muscles. The connection between the TVA muscles and your pelvic floor muscles that Dr. Laura Berman mentions in the transcript within Suzy’s article, is that the pelvic floor naturally tightens when the transverse abdominals are contracted. Indirectly, strengthening the TVA group, helps strengthen the pelvic floor. (And also helps the other muscles in maintaining a flat stomach).
Most people have abdominal training all wrong. They do zillions of crunches and expect to get a nice, flat stomach—and most of the time, they get absolutely zero results.
So what’s so wrong with the crunch?
The crunch actually recruits the hip flexors much more than the abdominal wall. Plus, they only work the abs through trunk flexion. And if you want to fully develop a sexy midsection, you need to train your abs through multiple types of movements.
However, today we’re going to focus on one specific way to train the abs: stabilization. Stabilization is the primary role of the core and it’s often neglected.
So I’m going to supercharge your ab routine and give 5 of the BEST stabilization exercises to start incorporating into your workouts. You’ll need an exercise ball like the one in these clips.
1. Swiss Ball Leg Lifts
I believe in getting the toughest exercise out of the way first. And this is DEFINITELY the toughest exercise out of the bunch! It involves hip flexion and stabilization—making it extremely difficult.
You should feel this throughout your entire midsection—especially the lower abs and the obliques.
Start by lying on your back on a Swiss Ball, making sure your low back is supported. Make sure you have something to hold onto behind you. Extend the arms back and keep a slight bend in the elbow while you hold onto a support.
Elevate the legs off of the ground with a slight bend in the knee and lift them up as far as you can while keeping tension on the abs. Pause at the top and slowly lower them back to the starting position. Pause again at the bottom and then repeat. View it:
2. Toe Touches Off of the Ball
You’re going to really feel this throughout your entire midsection – especially the lower abdominals and the obliques. You are going to place your feet up on swiss ball while your arms are in a pushup position on the floor. From this position—keeping the leg straight—extend the leg outward off of the ball and lightly touch the floor. Bring the leg back to the top of the ball and repeat with the other leg.
To make this exercise more difficult, focus on increasing your range of motion. Once you have established a full range, you can increase speed. Maintain a neutral spine and avoid letting the hips drop throughout the exercise. View it:
3. Swiss Ball Jacknife
This is a combo flexion/stabilization exercise. With your feet on the ball and your hands in the pushup position. Roll your knees in towards your chest, pause, and slowly extend the legs back until they’re straight and back in starting position. View it:
4. Ball Rollouts
This has to be my favorite exercise out of the bunch. It requires you to stabilize while going through a forward motion with the hips and torso—placing a ton of stress on the anterior portion of the midsection.
Starting from a kneel with your arms on the ball, slowly shift your weight forward while maintain a neutral spine. Pause once the arms reach full extension and slowly bring the ball back to starting position.
If your back arches at all during the movement, you should stop the exercise. View it:
5. Swiss Ball Mountain Climber
This is another combination ab exercise involving hip flexion and stabilization—really worked the obliques and lower abdominals. Plus it’s going to fry your triceps!
Start from a kneel and go up into a pushup position on the ball. When your arms are fully extended, bring in one leg at a time, slowly alternating between each leg and maintaining a neutral spine. View it:
Your abs WILL be sore if you have never done these exercises before, so don’t be surprised—especially 2 days after doing them.
Now go get that flat stomach!
*Nik is a personal trainer in Southern California who has worked with Season IV’s Biggest Loser contestant Jez Luckett—who he led to an amazing 90 pounds of weight loss in 6 months, helping him drop 42% of his original body weight.
Are you feeling like the fat to *f.a.t. dream is out of your reach and the main thing holding you back from obtaining it is your belly? Are you dreading bathing suit season because of your abs?
Well, in the coming weeks, you’ll be able to read some fitness tip and training articles from my trainer-friend and collaborator Nik Herold, in order to better prepare you for looking good in warm weather clothes. But in the meantime, I’m passing along a simple, and informative list of ten great ab exercises from About.com! Don’t fret - we can get there together!
For all you Fit After Thirty women preparing to have a baby, listen up! You know we are big believers in working out throughout pregnancy whenever possible, so I’ve found a great site for all of you, which focuses specifically on staying fit while preggers!!! And remember, not only does working out during pregnancy make it easier to stay in shape post-pregnancy, but it makes for an easier delivery and healthier baby! You will love this site.
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