Weight Loss

In No Time, Flat, Step 3: Cheat a Little

[ Updated: Jul 14, 2008 - 5:08:35 PM ]

We explained earlier that you can't shrink your gut merely by working your abs. While that may be true in a literal sense, like a bookkeeper at Enron, we're not afraid to carve out a little wiggle room for ourselves.

See, your midsection is girded by a web of muscles that spans your hips, abdominals, back, and shoulders. "When these 'core' muscles are toned, they pull tighter, and that shrinks the size of your abdomen," says Chris Jordan, C.S.C.S., director of corporate fitness and exercise physiology at LGE Performance Systems, in Orlando, Florida. "You'll also improve your posture, which will help you sit straighter and stand taller and give you a more commanding appearance."

You won't lose weight by working only your core, but doing so will go a long way toward hiding what's there. That should buy you some time to work toward longer-term results.


The Core Workout
We've outlined four exercises that, done as a group, will hit all areas of your midsection. Do a full circuit of all four exercises, 8 to 12 repetitions per exercise. Rest a minute; then do another circuit. The whole shebang should take you no more than 10 minutes, and you'll start to see results in just days. Do it twice a week, keeping these pointers in mind:

Stick to low reps
Most people hit their abs with high repetitions, believing this is the key to a faster six-pack. Resist the temptation. "Your abdominals are made of the same tissue as your biceps, triceps, chest, and every other muscle group," says Jordan. "So the same rules apply. Stick to 8 to 12 repetitions, and when that becomes easy, increase the intensity."

Go slow
The easiest way to increase the intensity is to slow the pace at which you perform the repetitions. "The slower you go, the more force and exertion the muscles are required to provide," says Jordan. Count to "two Mississippi" as you contract your abs, and to four as you relax them.

Stay contracted
As you're performing each exercise, never relax your abs completely. Keeping them in a constant state of contraction is yet another way to increase the intensity and thus get faster results.