Cut Out the Middle, Man

To shrink your gut and build a six-pack, awaken your inner abs

Start using the natural corset you were born with: the transversus abdominis. It’s the horizontal layer of muscle beneath your six-pack, and it can make your waist thinner. This 15-minute Pilates workout (no, Pilates not just for girls)  from Terrence Carey, a trainer in New York City, works both your transversus abdominis (for a smaller waist) and your rectus abdominis (for bigger abs).

The key to working that transverse layer is to pull your belly button toward your spine and hold it there for the duration of each exercise. Do each one slowly, and breathe slowly. Perform five repetitions of the rollback and eight of the toe tap and pushup.

ROLLBACK

Sit with your knees bent and your heels on the floor. Keep your torso upright, shoulders back, and arms extended forward, parallel to the floor [A]. Inhale while keeping your belly pulled in. Roll backward, rounding your spine while you hold your chin to your chest. Stop two-thirds of the way to the floor [B]. Exhale and return to the starting position. As you gain strength, roll back closer to the floor.

TOE TAP

Lie on your back and place your fingers behind your ears. Lift your legs until your knees are above your hips and your lower legs are parallel to the floor. Press your lower back against the floor and crunch forward until your shoulders are off the floor. With your toes pointed down, lower your right foot as far as you can without lifting your back off the floor [A]. Return to the starting position and repeat with your left leg [B].

LEG-LIFT PUSHUP

Get into the down position of a pushup, your hands in line with your shoulders, about 6 inches away from your body. Set your feet hip-width apart. Push up by straightening your arms. Then raise your left leg as high as you can [A]. Keep your leg raised while you perform a normal pushup by lowering your chest to the floor [B]. Keep your back flat and your body rigid. Switch legs on each repetition.

How to Lose That Gut

When doing crunches and all their variations, you spend a lot of time contemplating your belly. If it’s rounder than it oughtta be, try these lean tactics:

·     Eat Lean. You want a flat stomach? Watch what goes into it. Don’t worry, pal, we’re not telling you to live on alfalfa sprouts and granola. Most guys can get away with making little changes in their diet. Cut down on fatty toppings like mayo, butter, sour cream and salad dressing. Cut back on cheese and fatty red meats. Graze rather than gorge: eating four to six small meals a day instead of three big ones helps your body burn fuel more efficiently.

·    Exercise Aerobically. Cycling, rowing, running, whatever — it’s your call. Anything that gets your heart pumping will burn away your blubber. Hit it three days a week for 20-30 minutes to start. And if you can, work out before the dinner bell. Research suggests that a pre-dinner workout is an excellent appetite suppressor.

·     Relax. When stress hits, one of the first things your body does is crank up its production of adrenaline. This causes fat cells from all over your body to release their stored fat into your bloodstream, so you can burn it and use the calories to ecscape or fight off whatever it is that’s giving you the heebee-jeebies. But your stress is probably caused by your boss, your kids or the IRS, so all that newly-released fat goes unused.

What happens next, experts believe, is that the fat is taken out of the bloodstream again — only this time it’s stored preferentially around your belly. (You’re probably getting stressed just reading this.) So do whatever you can to de-stress. Take up a hobby that will help you unwind. Take time throughout the day to stretch and breathe deeply. Create a simple after-work ritual — changing clothes, sorting through the day’s mail, or just staring at the wall for a few minutes — that will cue your body that it’s time to decompress.

From Men’s Health Magazine