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THE PROBLEM

When I approached any of my clients for the first time asking their goals on health and fitness, I get goals ranging from fat loss to muscle building, & Athletic performance, etc.

This is fine where people are all unique for their needs and wants. However, almost all of these people will have one special specific goal in common ABS or FLAT tight chiseled stomach/ midsection …

“Man I wanted to get rid of this belly,” some says “I don’t want a six-pack and all, but wanted a flat nice-looking tummy”. Some say “I wanted to go to the beach party and wanted to look amazingly ripped like that movie star “

At the beginning of my carrier, I being a personal trainer also curious about why all human beings have got this same idea, so I looked up the history & psychology of this and it was really interesting and makes sense why people are so crazy about it.

THE ORIGIN & HISTORY

Everyone wants an amazing MIDSECTION. Lean and sculpted abs and oblique’s signify health, youth, vitality, and strength.

As humans, the visible signs that tell us someone is “healthy & fit”  are quite a few. Although they can be faked through clothing, make-up, anabolic steroids & clinical surgeries, they are not that foolproof to demand one’s body is healthy.

I would like to say that we ‘the humans in this era’ are living in the modern world with an ancient body. What I meant here is over 1000’s of years, it became an evolutionary advantage to be able to glance at someone and be able to discern if they were healthy and virile or, put it straight forward

“Worth mating with”.

These visible signs include the symmetry of

  • healthy clear skin,
  • appropriate body fat levels (too much or too little aren’t desirable)
  • the appearance of muscular strength and performance
  • hip to waist ratio in women and shoulder to waist ratio in men
  • Voice tonality, hair, nails and much more.

Alone these signs don’t mean a whole lot (unless they are extreme) but combined they tell us if a person has good genes and if they are healthy enough to mate with.

However, there is one sign that alone sends us a louder signal of poor health than most of the other visible signs. A round distended and over FAT belly.

We human beings have this instinctive knowledge that by seeing someone with a big fat belly indicates that something with their health is not so good.

Because a big belly that is not proportional to the rest of their body is not appealing for survival. They will be slow, lethargic & lazy to work and to a threat to protecting their mate. This instinctual feeling is rooted in some truth. Don’t get me wrong, am here talking about ancient instinctive brain of a human.

THE SCIENCE

Science shows us that men and women store more body fat in their belly region when their hormones are off.  Well, other multiple reasons lead to this too.

Studies have also demonstrated that poor stress management, poor sleeping patterns, and insulin insensitivity can also cause excess belly fat accumulation. To make matters worse, belly fat itself (especially visceral belly fat around the organs) is usually more “unhealthy” than other types of body fat.

Because the more belly fat can causes damages to the internal vital organs and causes life-threatening conditions.

It’s no wonder that the number one reason why people diet or exercise is to reduce belly fat or to improve the appearance of their midsection.

 

THE FUNCTION

The core is what connects the upper to the lower body and is responsible for supporting the spine, rotating the body, maintaining good posture and it is greatly involved in all physical movement.

Sports coaches and athletes know this which is why direct core work and indirect core stability work are major parts of exercise programs. Much of this doesn’t matter to the average person though…what most people are concerned with is LOOKING good.

 

THE GOOGLE COACH

There are plenty if midsection training techniques & exercises on the internet

Every single year new fads and new sales hooks are introduced to the midsection/SIXPACK training market yet people are more frustrated than ever with their progress. This is too bad because getting a flat and sculpted midsection is quite simple….yes I said SIMPLE, but I didn’t say easy. It does take work but the formula isn’t too complicated. If you apply it you can expect tremendous results that come fast and consistently.

 

THE APPROACH

The approach to getting a better looking and leaner midsection is very similar to the approach you would take to get leaner overall, but some factors are a bit different.

Belly distension can result from gut inflammation. A lower belly “pooch” can come from weak supporting core muscles. All in all, if your main fitness goal is to tighten up your midsection or flatten your tummy, there is a specialized approach that you can take that will produce faster and more consistent results.

Let’s start with the biggest factor that is impacting how your midsection looks. Nutrition.

Simply, I can explain to you that If you are consuming more calories than you are burning you will gain weight, and if you eat fewer calories than you are burning you will lose weight. But trust me, not every calorie is not as equal as you think it is absorbed by your body, it depends from individual to individual due to their lifestyle factors and genetics.

If you are interested to know more about and improve your health and fitness, just click here to get my coaching on it.

Although WHAT you eat CAN make this process easier or harder to adhere to and influence your overall health, you can NOT get around the fact that you MUST eat fewer calories than you consume to lose fat.

It’s a law of physics and you can’t get around it. Now that I have made my point, it’s important to understand that there are things you can do to make eating the appropriate calories for your goal and your overall health MUCH easier.

IMPORTANT STEPS TO FOLLOW

  • Make sure you eat adequate protein. Studies have shown that protein controls appetite better than the other macronutrients (fats and carbs) and it leads to more muscle growth (with proper resistance training) which can lead to a faster metabolism.

 

  • Avoid ultra-processed foods. These are foods that are designed to have long shelf lives and are usually found in boxes or wrappers. They are expertly engineered to make you want to eat MORE. Studies have shown that people will eat, on average, 400-500 more calories a day if they eat more ultra-processed foods. Avoid these foods and you will probably eat less automatically.

 

  • Your hormones and sleep (they are closely connected) can make storing body fat around and under your midsection more or less prevalent. Good sleep is one of the most impactful things that you can do to improve your hormone profile and improve how well your body deals with stress. Make sure to get 7-8 hours of sleep EVERY single night.

 

  • Eat foods that don’t cause gastrointestinal distress. Being bloated, gassy or being constipated can cause your belly to distend and add inches to your waist. Poor digestion can also increase gut inflammation, which may make you prone to even MORE food digestion issues.

 

  • If you have gut issues try avoiding foods that commonly cause digestion issues. This can be very individual, so if you know of a food that tends to bother your gut, avoid them for at least 6 weeks. Other common digestion causing foods include dairy, gluten, legumes, and high FODMAP foods. Sometimes simply getting rid of gut inflammation can make your waist shrink considerably.

 

THE MAJOR Neglected MUSCLE

99% of all midsection exercises that are promoted in online training programs revolve around training one main muscle…the abdominals.

The abdominals are what give you a six-pack and they have two main attachments…the pelvis and the lower rib cage.

Think of the abs as a large band. Its job is to pull its two attachments together…it does NOT keep your stomach flat.

This may sound crazy but when you consider your stomach, many of your internal organs in your midsection and that gravity tends to make them “settle” near the bottom of that midsection you can see why a “lower stomach pooch” is so common…even in lean individuals.

The abs only have two attachments and aren’t designed to hold everything in…that is the job of another muscle…one that is rarely almost NEVER targeted in training programs. This muscle is known as the transverse abdominis also known as the TVA.

The TVA surrounds your midsection like a natural corset. Its job is to stabilize the core and to KEEP THE MIDSECTION FLAT.

In fact of you suck in your stomach right now you would be using your TVA not your abs. This muscle, when weak, allows the organs of the midsection like your stomach to “pooch” out…but when it’s strong it pulls everything in nice and tight and gives the illusion of a smaller waist.

The weakening of the TVA is the main reason why women have such a tough time POST pregnancy by tightening their midsection. This is because the TVA needs to weaken and loosen to make room for a growing baby and it will stay weak if it isn’t DIRECTLY targeted with specific exercises. The good news is that the TVA responds very quickly when trained properly.

The problem with this myth lies in the fact that most people simply don’t know how to train the TVA. The cool thing is that it’s quite easy…one exercise, in particular, is PERFECT for targeting this muscle.

THE EXERCISE

Enter the vacuum pose exercise. With this exercise, you target and strengthen the TVA muscles and over a short period, you notice a smaller and tighter waist…even if you don’t get leaner!!

 

 

CONCLUSION

Well, …that is pretty much it. If you have a sensible diet and you exercise the entire body properly and moreover you understand the health of your own body and you combine it with the techniques and methods I describe in my online personal coaching you WILL see better and faster results than you ever have before.

Learning HOW to send the right signals to your body so that it adapts in ways that are favorable for your goals is key. Get a faster metabolism with weight training, train your midsection with sufficient resistance and train your TVA and watch what happens.

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