In the Flat Belly Cure Podcast, Episode 4, Mark and Stephen talk about the myths behind getting a flat stomach. For example, did you know that doing 1,000 sit-ups a day will probably do you no good at all if you don’t accompany them with the right nutrition? You can’t lose body fat by doing abdominal crunches or sit-ups. The best way to get a flatter belly is to focus on strengthening your core muscles with lighter exercises that don’t burn like crunches, but get better results. Listen to the podcast to find out more!
Time Stamped Show Notes:
00:01 – Introduction to the episode
00:33 – Let’s talk about how you can do 1,000 sit-ups to get a flat stomach – this is a myth, by the way!
01:02 – If your bodyfat is low enough and you do sit-ups, your stomach will get more defined but if you have a layer of fat, like 99.9% of people, doing 1,000 sit-ups every day will not get you a flat stomach
01:33 – Old school of thought was that doing sit-ups burned fat, but it is not the most effective way to lose body fat
02:59 – Nutritionally, you can think about what you’re eating, as this can have an impact on losing body fat from that area. But you can’t lose it through sit-ups
03:22 – A lot of people have spent years doing abdominal exercises to get ab muscles, but the key factor is your nutrition
03:54 – You cannot burn fat from your stomach by doing stomach crunches
04:30 – Make sure you put emphasis on your core stabilising muscles
04:47 – We see this a lot with women who have had children and not been able to train these muscles after childbirth, they never feel that their stomach is as tight as it could be
05:17 – Same is true of men sat at a desk for a long period of time, the muscles become weak and don’t do their job of stabilising your core
05:50 – The stronger your core muscles are, the bigger the impact on a flat stomach and less likely you are to injure yourself
05:57 – Spending time on core muscles has a big impact on how your stomach feels
06:01 – Also how your stomach looks
06:22 – Do exercises that don’t burn the same way as crunches do
06:32 – Bird Dog – kneel on all fours and push your right arm forward and left leg back to make you stabilize, these are the best exercises
07:10 – Part of The DVCC Primal 10 is making sure these core muscles are firing
07:25 – Once they are stronger, it is a question of maintaining them
07:32 – The problem is not what you do when training, but the other 23 hours when your muscles tend to go to sleep and get weaker
07:51 – When we were Hunter /Gatherers those muscles were used all the time
07:58 – “Lose it or you lose it” – the old adage is very true
08:19 – How many hours of your life are spent at a desk? A ridiculous amount of time!
08:32 – You have to spend as much time correcting all those badly spent hours
09:18 – Tips for exercises you should spend your time on:
09:19 – Deep core stabilizing exercises, like Bird Dog and rotation of your trunk
09:43 – Also do ones that stop you rotating your waist, like a front plank (you can Google it)
10:05 – Training your core to allow you to move your body and stay strong while the rest of your body moves
10:26 – The core is our trunk that allows our body to work well, it’s vital to be strong
10:43 – If you have any questions, go ahead and leave them on the blog, on the podcast
10:44 – If you want to learn more about The DVCC, you can go to thedvcc.com where there is plenty of information and you can download a pricing guide if you wish!
3 Key Points:
It’s a myth that doing abdominal crunches and sit-ups will get you a flat stomach.
Nutrition is a key factor when it comes to reducing body fat around your stomach.
Try exercises that strengthen your core, like Bird Dog, Trunk Rotation and Front Plank.
Resources Mentioned:
TheDVCC.com – Mark and Steve’s website