How many people say "I've been doing 50 million crunches and I don't see any results"???
How many people say "All I want to do is cardio to slim down and tone!"
I know I may hurt feelings or burst bubbles, but hey of I don't tell you you'll think there's something wrong with you and not something is wrong with what I am doing.
First: crunches, planks, standing abs, etc. do NOT I repeat do NOT give you flat abs! Let me say this again for those in disbelief. You can do all the ab work you want, but you will NOT get a 6-pack from just that. We use our stomach muscles all day everyday. From sitting, to leaning over, to walking. The problem is removing the FAT layer that is holding on giving you that spare tire, muffin top, or pregnant with no baby look! The MAIN #1 thing you can do to remove that fat layer is to eat CLEAN and HEALTHY! What is clean and healthy people always ask. You know that anything in one of those packages that you eat is definitely NOT. You can have a combination of any fruit and or vegetable. However, I would stay away from white potatoes, corn, root veggies (you know the starchy items). You can eat lean meats, fish, and sea food. Wild caught and Free range as much as possible. Eat non fat Greek yogurt (small quantities), whole wheat items (small amount) brown rice, quinoa, English muffins, oatmeal, rolled oats, and etc. Healthy fats ie Nut butters (not too much now), olive oil, coconut oil, and avocados. Protein supplements are great because people rarely get adequate protein from their daily diet. When you don't have enough protein you can't build lean muscle and your body gets hungry and you want to EAT!
So, eat up to FLATTEN up!
Second: Cardio all alone does not give you the sleek slim tight look you want. Most people who do cardio to something mild and simple like: jogging (I didn't say running because you have to go fast to run and let's face it, most people aren't RUNNING!) bike, elliptical (I hate when people think 45 minutes on the elliptical is really going to TRANSFORM their body). The type of cardio that works is HIIT. That is high intensity interval training. That means go hard and fast as long as you can followed by a short break. Think 30 seconds to 1 minute, nothing longer. For example jump squats for 45 seconds then Bicep curls for 45 seconds followed by a 30 second break, or sprint for 30 seconds then run for 1 minute. Think 9.5 for 30 seconds then 6.5 for 1 minute. The high burst of energy blast fat but maintain the integrity of the muscle. You work out 30-45 minutes and burn twice as many calories as "jogging" or doing the elliptical for one hour. If you're not sweating, out of breath, tired, and your body feels like jello, you have not maximized your workout and burned fat. Now you don't have to jump and twist to burn fat. You can also climb stairs (like 50-100 floors) or get on the stair machine with intensity hiked all the way up!
Those are my tips for you all struggling with that
Remember you will not see these major changes in 2 weeks. 30, 60, then 90 days. You will see begging stage change, intermediate change, then major change. If and ONLY if you keep the faith and never give up!
Hey, if you can't do it alone, get someone to hold you responsible (preferably not a friend because they tend to pacify us) or use my services rayla.hunt@yahoo.com
