Hey there guys. I've got a question about belly fat. I'm tall, and pretty athletic body all over - not too big but pretty well "toned" and really I train more for function than size, for sports purposes.

My belly though isn't fat, but it just doesn't look as good as it could. Now, I'm not really all that bothered about a massively ripped six pack, because whilst I eat fairly healthily, I'm not suer I could maintain such low levels of body fat. But I'd quite like to get it looking a bit more toned up - it's the only area of my body really that doesn't look quite as athletic-like as it should.

Any tips? If a bit of fat loss is needed, then tips for that? The only problem with that is I think I may look too thin elsewhere. But I guess I'm probably more looking for exercises that are good to add a bit of definition or to tone it up and define slightly.

Toning down is primarily a battle of dieting. Eliminate poor fats from your diet, reduce carbs, focus on complex carbs while limiting simple carbs, eat small meals every few hours, and monitor salt intake. Your weight lifting program should be focused around light weights and high reps. Combine this with moderate cardio and smart dieting and you'll be in summer shape in no time.

You can count your calories and fat grams to keep track of what you're eating. Doing sit-ups will help and also walking while flexing your abs will give you a better workout.

It sounds like you have a longer and slimmer build. That means its difficult for you to put on muscle. There is no such thing as actually toning vs real exercise so I would very much recommend that you up your weights and lower your reps (within reason, DO NOT SACRAFICE FORM). You will see much larger gains. Also try eating on high protien diet. I didnt say low carb, I said HIGH PROTEIN. This means lean proteins such as chicken fish pork eggs and beef with every meal. Eating and lifting like this will slim you up while packing on a nice amount of muscle. Good luck and cheers.
-BRAD

could not have said it better myself from the guys who have contributed in this topic when it comes about diet.

But i got to add, make sure you work out your abs 4 times a weak at least, the abs can withstand a lot of workout, which means you're going to be doing at least 3 - 4 abs exercises each time, make sure to hit the obliques, lower and upper abs, also try to vary it from day to day.

And i can't stress this enough, the best damn thing for ABS is to work them out when you wake up on an empty stomach, right as soon as you wake up, hit those ABS.

if you just want to lose some fat, then stick to the basics,

-at least 1 gram of protein per lb/body weight a day (dat amino acids/glucagon brah)

-lift at least 3 times a week (dat lean mass muscle fibre recruitment brah)

-get 8-10 hours rest a night and listen to your body, if you're extremely fatigued, or sore to the point of actual pain then skip the gym for a day, better to miss one day for rest, then to hurt yourself at the gym and have to miss weeks, take 1-2 days off a week from the gym to give your body some rest, workout in splits

-stay hydrated through out the day, try to drink water until your piss is clear, stay away from juice and too much milk, one glass of milk a day max, and if you absolutely must drink juice, squeeze it from fresh fruit yourself so it isn't coming from concentrate

-eat several small meals through out the day (rather then a few big ones), every 2-4 hours, so your body is constantly in a state of digestion, but never in a state of being over-full or over-hungry (these promote fat storage), make sure there is some protein in every serving, keep that fire burning

-reduce simple carbs such as sugar and starch to a bare minimum (dat reducing insulin production brah)

-don't eat carbs by themselves or right before you go to bed *four hours should be enough time, don't eat carbs past four hours before you go to bed* (once again dat insulin control brah)

-if you want to cycle carbs to workout harder cause you're killing glycogen stores with low carb/SPAM, then every two weeks have 3 days in a row where you eat absolutely no carbs at all and do some low weight high rep excersise until you are totally out of energy on your final day, start a carb load up, this will help your body in the gym if you are low carb/SPAM, also if you do this, only weigh in on those 3rd days when your glycogen stores are depleted, as when your body goes into SPAM your metabolism spikes and the primary source of fuel for your body switches from carbs, to fats, after day 3 your body should have entered SPAM and the first thing to go when your body is switching is your water weight, don't be alarmed if you don't eat carbs for 3 days then see 5-20 lbs fall off (depending on your size and how much sodium you consume), and in the same way don't be surprised when you put water weight right back on as soon as some carbs enter your mouth, try to keep your weigh in variables constant, weigh in, in the mourning, once every 1-2 weeks when you wake up, if cycling, do it during SPAM, your body holds 3g of water for every 1g of glycogen stored via carbohydrate

-cardio if used, is best used on an empty stomach in the mourning (if not doing cardio, try to eat a protein asap when you wake up), this helps promote norepinephrine production in your body, and when you haven't eaten it will be more effective against specifically targeting fat, also cardio is useless if you haven't maintained past at least the brink of your fat burning zone (depending on cardio fitness the fat burning zone probably starts around 130-140 bpm and at a certain point when elevated past that will begin to be a cardio training zone rather then fat burning *increases your cardio fitness*) and also if doing cardio try to do between 30-60 minutes

-eat on a slight caloric deficit try to shoot for 200-500 calories less then your daily caloric maintenance level, don't starve yourself harshly this will cause your body to go starvation mode, you will still lose weight when your body hits stasis, but your body will recruit more calories from proteins and lean mass then it was before and hold onto it's fat stores more strongly to preserve your life, eventually once stripped off lean mass this reduces your metabolism (the more muscular/large you are the more calories it takes to move)

-find your caloric maintenance by eating the same exact meals and measurements daily for 2 weeks, each week record how much you weigh at the same time every day, make sure your diet follows the above 2 principles (1 gram of protein per/lb and no simple carbs), then after two weeks you will be able to gauge if you need to increase the caloric intake (losing more then 2lbs a week), or if you need to decrease the caloric intake (not losing weight), if you are gaining weight or stagnant, every week decrease the daily intake by 300-500 calories, until you finally hit a point that you are losing weight

-focus on getting good whole foods into your body so you don't have to supplement as much, the healthier the food the more efficient it will be to consume, where as a medium big mac meal will run about 1400 calories, and only give you about 40 grams of protein and alot of bad fats and simple carbs, a whole kg of lean ground turkey will give you about 1200 calories, almost 200 grams of protein and lots of good fats (fish is really good for those omega's, but if you hate fish you can pick up some fish oil supps), also keep red meat down to 2-3 servings a week max, try to focus on lean meats, like fish and poultry, and buy it in it's leanest form

-if you find your diet is getting to restrictive for you and it is causing cravings and thoughts of brownies and cookies (or what ever junk food floats your boat), then just increase your caloric intake, keep eating clean, but use cardio to regulate so that you are still under a caloric deficit (if you need to eat more, eat more, just work harder and bust your ass if that is the case)

-for lifting some people will say, low rep, high weight, some people will say low weight high rep, it is all about what your goals are, high rep, low weight will decrease recovery time, lower the chance of injury, and increase the amount of calories/time the workout will take away from you, this is great for maintaining the flow of calories and generating what is coming in and out according to your current metabolism, how ever lifting heavy causes more micro tearing in your muscle fiber that leads to bigger gains and that results in a higher metabolism, the downside however is less calories expended, longer recovery time, and higher chance of injury (keep good form, if you can't the weight is too heavy for you, if you are lifting heavy, shoot for 6-10 reps a set, lift as heavy as you can with proper form), either way no matter how you lift, light or heavy, shoot for muscle failure always, as a side note, don't neglect your legs either, it has been proven that your quads release the most testosterone when the muscle fiber is being ripped,


to oversimplify things though, abs are a result of having a decent amount of lean mass combined with a low body fat %, low body fat is a result of a good diet more so then time in the gym (abs usually start to present at around 8-10% bf), how ever, metabolism will be determined via genetics, diet, and the amount of lean mass that your body holds, losing weight is almost as simple as calories in vs calories out, but that is ''weight'' not fat per-se, so if you don't get the protein and you don't lift, you will start wasting away, and eventually you will lose enough lean mass that your body can't maintain the metabolism to get rid of the fat, all of a sudden your diet won't work anymore, you still got a bit of chubb, and you are smaller too and now gaining weight, you don't want that, shoot for 1-2 lbs of weight loss weekly, no more then that, and make damn sure you're getting dat protein brah, also anti-oxidants can help you, acai berry, goji berry, blueberries, raspberries and green tea are all fairly high in anti-oxidants and can help you lose weight, you can supplement anti oxidants as well, phyto berry is damn tasty if you have any gnc available to you to buy your supplements, also if you are eating fruit that is high in anti-oxidants, try to eat it post workout with a protein (you can have a shake with it, or blend it into a shake), as most of the fruits listed that are high in anti-oxidants are also high in simple carbs (don't consume too much at one time or your blood sugar will spike and promote insulin production)

also keep in mind it is nearly impossible to put on lean mass while losing weight at the same time (unless morbidly obese or taking t-boosters), you are either in a caloric deficit, losing weight, or you are in a surplus gaining weight, there is a maintenance you can reach but still it will always be slightly one way or the other, so at maintenance you're constantly making really small unnoticeable gains/losses that leave your body more lean, but maintained at the same level

also finally, there is no such thing as spot reduction

GOOD LUCK

the fastest way of exercising is HIIT high intensity interval training. you can apply it to abbs too. just google it. extremely effective.

well pumpington's post pretty much covers everything

But one thing to mention is if you are cutting calories 250-500 below maintenance. Cut the calories from carbs, and i mean starchy carbs and grains. Keep protein and fat high (don't be scared of fat) and cut the calories from your carbs. Limit intakes of grains thus limiting insulin production. Remember this, carbs make the body produce insulin which makes the body store excess glucose in fat cells making you fat, thus limit your carbs which subsequently reduces insulin production.

Note i am not saying eat no carbs, carbs are bad and evil etc.
Just limit them, eat them around workouts and in the morning (only) but not at night.

Oh and endless ad workout will not give you a a sixpack, 1-2 times a week is easily enough, they get hit hard in the big compounds like squats and deadlifts anyway

Some tips for belly fat loss are:
Do morning walk.
Do some of the cardio exercises daily.
Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and avoid more fat and fast foods.
Drink plenty of water.
Take green tea.
Use fish oil.

Maitland gym

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http://adamprowse.com.au/hints-a-tips/2 ... boxer.html Maitland Boxing Center

Some tips for belly fat loss are:
Do morning walk.
Do some of the cardio exercises daily.
Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and avoid more fat and fast foods.
Drink plenty of water.
Take green tea.
Use fish oil.


Maitland Boxing Club

Abs are primarily a body fat issue. You can have a six pack of steel but if it is covered by fat nobody can see them. Getting your six pack visible will have more to do with dieting than it will by exercising them.

Losing body fat only makes unfit people look skinny. If you exercise regularly for another sport it will make you look fit and toned, and your muscles will have a hard look to them.

Hi 12,
Some effective tips for you to lose your belly fat.
Do exercise regularly and exercise before breakfast. Never skip breakfast or any meal and use fat burning food in your meal plans. Increase water intake, drink green tea and avoid unhealthy food and drinks. Avoid eating late nights and take deep and freshening sleep.

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Algonquin, Illinois,
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PHONE# (224) 678-9060

For losing some belly fat exercise is important. Running is best exercise for the whole body. Oily food causes belly fat so we should avoid eating oily food. We can burn belly fat easily with some jogging and running.

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boot camp castle hill

Do some cardio exercises to burn the extra fat and shape up your belly.
Take green, and grapefruit juice in your breakfast, it will be very helpful to shape you belly.

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http://adamprowse.com.au/ Rutherford workout routine

I've heard no carb diets work for some people.

Belly fat is the most difficult fat the get rid off, first place to come last place to go. You're going to be wanting to aim for a very low amount of bf%. I have the same issue you have, my top 4 abs are easily seen, but the bottom two are always covered by fat. Just keep dieting and doing cardio to burn that fat.

You can make it as complicated as you want though.