9 of the most useful exercises to make your stomach flat and your waist thin

It is unlikely that there is at least one woman in the world who is one hundred percent satisfied with her appearance. Even the slender girls with parameters ninety-sixty-ninety notice the extra millimeters at the waist and rush headlong to the gym to correct the situation. What can we say about those whose figure cannot even be called ideal? With sadness in their eyes, they look at their tummy and the place of their supposed waist. It’s just that, unlike the first ones, they are in no hurry to do physical exercises, preferring to cast an envious glance at the skinny lucky women and refer to hundreds of reasons for their “forced” inaction.

Pulling your knees to your chest

A technically difficult, but truly effective exercise for the rectus abdominis muscles. There are several nuances here that need to be taken into account when performing a pull-up of the knees to the chest: bend your knees as much as possible from the first second of the movement, lift your pelvis as high as possible, and the angle of leg extension should correspond to the preparation: the lower your legs are extended, the greater the load and the more difficult it is. If during the execution you begin to “move” forward and backward on the mat, it means that the angle of stretching your legs is chosen incorrectly and you need to stretch your legs higher.

The exercise is performed lying on your back, placing your arms either along the body or raising them above your head. As you exhale, pull your legs towards your chest, and as you inhale, stretch them forward. Towards the middle and end of the approach, a burning sensation should appear in the upper abdomen.

How much to do:

2 sets of 1 minute each.

Yoga exercises for a flat stomach

Yoga is not only a physical exercise, but also a spiritual practice. Each exercise has a healing effect and a positive mood for the whole body.
Yoga exercises are called asanas. All asanas should be done slowly, observing correct breathing.
Most yoga poses are static and need to be held for 30 seconds to 5 minutes, depending on your physical fitness.
The paradox of yoga poses is that the longer you hold them, the easier they become. Muscles get used to new loads and begin to burn subcutaneous fat
If you find it difficult to understand yoga asanas, sign up for yoga courses in your city. This is now an extremely common trend.
There are many types of yoga. Some are aimed at breathing exercises, spiritual practices, there is pair yoga and many more types. When registering, please specify why you want to register for classes. Then you will be advised in the direction you need
Having mastered the basics, you can continue to develop independently. There are many video lessons online from amateurs and experienced instructors.

Yoga

Forward twist

An excellent exercise for the rectus abdominis muscles with an emphasis on the upper part. It is important in this exercise not to work in jerks, but to do all movements smoothly. As you lift your body up, exhale and completely empty your lungs. At the highest point, we strain our stomach as much as possible and squeeze the muscles. In this exercise, the lower back is pressed to the floor, the legs are raised at an angle of 90 degrees, the knees are placed above the hip, and only the upper part of the body is worked. We try not to strain our necks, don’t help ourselves with our legs and don’t make sudden movements. Smoothly, while exhaling, raise the body, be sure to fixate for one or two seconds, and smoothly, while inhaling, lower the body completely down. During the process, you should feel a burning sensation in the upper abdomen.

How much to do:

2 approaches of 1 minute each and the last 10 seconds of each approach we raise the pulse, working in a short amplitude.

How to get a beautiful toned stomach

It is possible to get rid of fat in the waist area through your own efforts and efforts, and a selection of 30 methods, the effectiveness of which has a scientific basis, is intended to help with this. If you follow these recommendations, the extra pounds will disappear without a trace, and your tummy will become completely flat.

To get rid of belly fat, you need to:

#1 Reduce caloric intake

Weight loss and nutrition are inextricably linked. And if the energy value of the diet remains unchanged, the extra pounds will not go away. This also applies to fat deposits around the waist. To lose 0.5-1 kilograms of weight per week, daily calorie intake must be reduced between 500 and 1000 calories.

You should not go beyond the recommended norm. A sharper reduction in calorie intake can have a negative impact on the body. If the energy value of foods consumed per day is minimal, then metabolism may decrease significantly or the number of calories burned when performing certain actions may change. A study was conducted in which one group of people were given 1,100 calories per day, and the second - 1,500 calories. The results showed that the metabolic level of the second group was twice as high as that of the first.

Eating extra calories does not restore your metabolism to its previous level. It will remain less than before reducing the energy value of the diet. Therefore, in no case should you overdo it by torturing yourself with hunger. This will only negatively affect the condition of the body.

#2 Increase your dietary fiber intake

This is especially true for soluble fibers. They absorb large amounts of moisture, which slows down the process of food passing through the gastrointestinal tract. This significantly increases the duration of feeling full. Soluble fiber reduces the number of calories you get from food and the amount of fat stored by the body.

The beneficial effects of dietary fiber were proven in one study that was conducted over several years. It showed that ten grams of dietary fiber introduced into the daily diet for five years is enough to reduce weight gained around the waist by 3.7%.

To reduce belly fat, you need to eat oatmeal, legumes, blackberries, flaxseed, and Brussels sprouts. These foods are rich in dietary fiber.

#3 Take probiotics

Probiotics are microorganisms that are of great importance for weight regulation and the process of losing weight. The gut bacteria in the bodies of normal and overweight people is different. In an overweight person, the intestinal microflora contributes to even more weight gain, and probiotics can change this. They increase the number of beneficial bacteria, which reduces the risk of excess fat in the abdominal area.

The most effective probiotics for reducing belly fat are three strains of Lactobacillus:

fermentum;
amylovorus;
gasseri

Probiotics are found in kefir, pickles, kimchi, and some yogurts. Along with products, they can be consumed in the form of special supplements that contain several strains of this lactobacilli. The main thing when purchasing such a product is to make sure that it contains the three most active species.

#4 Do cardio

Aerobic exercise and cardiovascular exercise help burn fat and improve your overall health. Conducted studies have proven the fact that cardio helps strengthen the midsection of the body and reduce waist size.

The optimal duration of aerobic exercise with high and medium intensity is about 150-300 minutes. This is approximately 20 to 40 minutes a day. The greatest effectiveness is achieved by running, fast walking, rowing, and cycling.

If you constantly leave time in your schedule for cardio, your abdominal muscles will tighten and become flat.

#5 Drink protein shakes

This is the easiest way to get the required amount of protein. Its sufficient intake allows you to increase metabolism, suppress hunger and appetite, and reduce weight, including in problem areas. This is especially true for the middle part of the body. The effect of protein-rich shakes on creating a flat and toned stomach has been confirmed by many studies.

Thanks to these drinks, the body fully replenishes the deficiency of this substance, which is important for maintaining normal functioning. Adding such cocktails to your usual diet allows you to get the much-desired thin waist.

#6 Include monounsaturated fatty acids in your diet

They belong to the healthy category of fats and have a liquid consistency at room temperature. Studies have shown that they prevent the accumulation of abdominal fat, which is the most dangerous for the body.

An example of a diet rich in monounsaturated fatty acids is the Mediterranean diet. The presence of these fats in the diet can significantly reduce the risks of obesity, including in the abdominal area.

Seeds, avocados, olive oil, and nuts are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids.

#7 Minimize consumption of fast carbohydrates

Reducing calorie intake, which promotes weight loss and gaining a flat stomach, consists of limiting simple, that is, fast carbohydrates. Refined ones are especially dangerous. The effectiveness of this approach to the diet is confirmed by numerous studies that recommend replacing refined carbohydrates with healthy whole ones.

The risk of developing abdominal fat in people who eat whole grain foods is reduced by seventeen percent compared to those who eat fast carbohydrates. Therefore, by minimizing the amount of the latter, giving preference to healthy ones, you can significantly improve the appearance of the body and get rid of fat accumulation in the waist area.

#8 Do strength training

Diets aimed at burning fat have a significant drawback in that muscle mass is also lost along with fat. When this happens, not only is the metabolism disrupted, but much fewer calories are burned. Weight-bearing exercises can help prevent muscle loss by improving the quality of metabolic processes in the body. An important fact is that such physical activity strengthens the abdominal muscles.

Performing aerobic and strength exercises is the most effective way to make your waist thin. In addition, we must not forget that weight training allows you to maintain muscle mass even while dieting, which has a positive effect on the process of burning abdominal fat and metabolic rate.

No. 9 Exercise exclusively in a standing position

The effectiveness of physical activity is directly determined by how it is performed. If we compare exercises on exercise machines and in a sitting position with those done while standing, then the latter are much more effective. This is due to the use of more muscles to maintain body weight and balance, which also requires an increase in energy expended.

It has been experimentally confirmed that when a person stands, muscle activity during the exercise increases in the range from 7 to 25%, and breathing improves significantly. The last benefit of exercise is almost invisible, but it makes a significant contribution to strengthening the muscles of the middle part of the body. It is physical activity, carried out in a standing position, that allows you to increase calorie consumption and the amount of oxygen entering the body, and stimulate muscle function.

#10 Cook with apple cider vinegar

Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid, which has a positive effect on health. As experiments conducted on animals have shown, it inhibits the production of adipose tissue. Experiments of this nature have not been carried out on humans, but there has been one significant study.

Overweight people took one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar every day for two weeks. After the end of the experiment, it turned out that the waist circumference decreased by an average of 1.4 centimeters.

#11 Take a half-hour walk every day

The best way to lose weight and improve your health is to combine diet with physical activity. It is not necessary to immediately take on complex intense workouts; you can limit yourself to simpler exercises.

Daily brisk walking for 30 to 40 minutes, during which about 7,500 steps are taken, has a positive effect on the condition of the lower back and abdominal region. The latter helps prevent the appearance of fat around the waist.

#12 Try to completely eliminate liquid calories

Carbonated sweet juices and water, as well as energy drinks, contain a lot of sugar and calories in liquid form. Their peculiarity is that they are drunk in large quantities. The main risk of drinking this way is that liquid calories are absorbed by the body much worse than solid ones. Therefore, they should be eliminated from the diet first.

A scientific experiment revealed that each bottle of carbonated sweet drink consumed increases the risk of obesity in children by 60%. These drinks contain large amounts of fructose. This is what directly influences the gain of excess fat in the abdominal area.

#13 Eat single-ingredient and whole foods

The most important diet recommendation for getting a flat stomach. Whole foods contain a lot of minerals, water, microelements, and fiber. It is almost impossible to overeat such food. In addition, it overwhelmingly helps in weight loss.

Single-ingredient foods include: dairy products, vegetables, whole grains, fish, legumes, unprocessed meats, nuts. They allow you to quickly satisfy your hunger, provide the body with many useful substances, and lose fat around the waist.

#14 Drink more water

Drinking fluid affects the body in three directions at once when water is drunk in large quantities:

accelerates metabolism and increases the body's energy expenditure by about 100 calories per day;
reduces the amount of food consumed if the liquid is drunk immediately before meals;
relieves bloating and constipation.

Those who want to lose weight should drink one glass of water before each meal.

Drinking plenty of fluids activates metabolism, fills you up faster, normalizes digestion, eliminating constipation. All this allows you to make your stomach flatter.

#15 Eat exclusively meaningful meals

Eating meaningfully means treating food not only as a source of satisfaction of any feelings or emotions, but also as a means intended to compensate for the need for it. Eating according to this scheme should be deliberate, promoting weight loss, and not with the goal of getting rid of stress, which provokes overeating.

If you change your eating habits, restraining your own emotions towards food, then controlling your own weight will become much easier. Thus, food will cease to be a tool for a person to achieve only satiation, but will become a means solely to eliminate the physiological feeling of hunger.

No. 16 Do not swallow air with carbon dioxide

This does not apply to the respiratory process, but to the consumption of carbonated drinks - the main source of carbon dioxide. It is present in vesicles and is released after entering the stomach. Carbon dioxide can cause nausea or digestive upset.

Similar negative consequences are obtained from chewing gum, when talking during a meal, or drinking drinks through a straw. To eliminate the effect of accumulation of belly fat caused by carbon dioxide, you need to eat food silently, drink liquid in glasses, and replace carbonated drinks with plain water.

Chewing gum and carbonated drinks cause stomach problems for many people, not just those who are overweight.

#17 Do high-intensity training

Physical exercises of increased intensity, performed in short periods of time, with short breaks between individual approaches, force the body to work on increased fat burning and accelerate metabolism not only during exercise, but also after training. You can do jumping, rowing, sprinting.

The advantage of such training is that they are short in duration, taking from 10 to 20 minutes. This allows you not to spend a lot of time on training, but at the same time speed up your metabolism and remove fat from problem areas.

#18 Try to expose yourself to as little stress as possible

Worrying and being stressed is an absolutely normal phenomenon for every person, without exception, but it conceals the danger of developing various diseases, as well as overeating. Due to stress, cortisol is synthesized in the body. This hormone provokes increased appetite, overeating, and increased accumulation of fat in the abdominal cavity.

Shocks are especially dangerous for overweight people. This risk group is most vulnerable to an increase in fat in the waist area due to the release of cortisol into the body. To take control of your experiences and not allow bad emotions to win, you should meditate and practice yoga.

#19 Focus on protein-rich foods

The most important nutritional element in the menu of every person who decides to lose weight is protein. As it is absorbed, the body burns a large amount of carbohydrates and fats. And if high protein foods are included in the daily diet, this leads to the burning of another 80-100 additional calories per day.

Suppression of appetite, faster onset of satiety, and better preservation of muscle mass are also important. As a result of a scientific study, a relationship was found between protein consumption and a decrease in waist circumference than with a minimum content of protein-rich foods in the diet.

The required daily protein intake depends on physical activity, gender, and age. The optimal amount of this substance from the total caloric content of the daily dose ranges from 20 to 30 percent. A proper protein diet can increase metabolism, maintain muscle mass, and reduce obesity in people who are overweight.

No. 20 Control the amount of food you eat

To get rid of extra pounds, you need to monitor your own nutrition. You can count the number of calories, keep a diary where all meals and snacks are recorded in detail, or take photographs of everything that is eaten.

It is enough to do this for several days or weeks. This will give you a chance to know how many calories are consumed, whether it is necessary to reduce your diet, or whether the selected menu allows you to achieve your goal. By monitoring your nutrition, losing pounds and achieving a smaller waist can be much easier.

#21 Eat chicken eggs

Proteins, which a chicken egg contains in large quantities, contribute to the loss of extra pounds. A large egg contains no more than 77 calories. If you eat eggs for breakfast every day for two months, you can lose 65% more weight than if you eat other foods.

An egg eaten in the morning allows you to reduce calories in the body in the next day. In addition, this product is much healthier than other foods with similar calorie content, and also helps reduce fat on the waist and abdomen.

#22 Get enough sleep

Good sleep is an integral part of losing weight. The process of gaining excess weight intensifies when adults sleep less than five hours, and children - ten hours. In women, lack of sleep causes an increase in waist size.

In people suffering from chronic sleep deprivation, obesity increases by 55%. This consequence is easily eliminated by increasing the time spent sleeping. Otherwise, your weight problem will continue to get worse.

#23 Maintaining short-term fasting

Keeping a fast for a short time means eating according to a scheme where the regular menu alternates with a fast one. The most popular is fasting for 24 hours, two to four times a week. There is another approach, when you don’t eat anything for 16 hours a day, but take food in the interval between lunch and dinner. This leads to consuming fewer calories.

Fasting is useful and effective because it allows you to limit your daily food intake. The main advantage of this approach is that it is much simpler than exhausting diets. Short-term fasting does not require putting yourself through painful restrictions, and sometimes even real hunger. Fasting makes it possible to endure dietary deprivations much easier.

No. 24 Include fish oil or fatty fish in your diet

You should eat fatty fish once or twice a week. This product contains Omega-3 fatty acids, as well as high quality proteins. Both of these substances have incredible health benefits.

Thanks to Omega-3, fat synthesis in the abdominal cavity and liver is significantly reduced. When fatty fish are not available, fish oil or supplements that contain it become a worthy alternative.

#25 Minimize sugar intake

Foods that contain sugar are considered to be one of the causes of the development of the risk of many ailments, including liver and heart diseases, as well as diabetes. Such food has become widespread, which has led to numerous studies.

Their results demonstrated a link between sugar-containing foods and increased belly and waist fat. This is especially true for the consumption of a variety of sweet drinks. To avoid such consequences, you must always study the composition of the purchased product.

#26 Use coconut oil

This product contains a unique combination of fatty acids. It is coconut oil that contains medium chain triglycerols in high concentrations. When they begin to be consumed instead of regular fats, the amount of energy expended increases, and saturation occurs much faster.

Coconut oil contains fatty acids, but does not slow down the weight loss process. However, one should also take into account the fact that this product contains fats, the calorie content of which is 9 calories per gram. Therefore, coconut oil should be used to replace other types of oils, and not to add it additionally.

If this product with medium-chain triglycerenes is correctly added to your menu, you can quickly become satiated and lose fat accumulation in the body. The main thing is that other oils must be excluded.

#27 Strengthen your core muscles

Abdominal training and crunches are aimed at improving health and improving physical fitness. Regular performance of these exercises strengthens the abdominal muscles, increases their volume, which helps prevent pain in the back.

A strong and developed physique helps improve your posture. This has a positive effect on a person’s appearance. He becomes more confident and looks taller. Working out your abs strengthens the muscles that support your abdomen. Pilates and plank exercises are considered the best for this area.

#28 Drink more unsweetened green tea and black coffee

These two drinks are considered the most effective for humans. Drinking coffee increases calorie consumption from 3 to 11%. Tea made from green tea extract increases the amount of fat burned by 17 and the amount of calories burned by 4%. This applies to both black and Chinese oolong tea.

Experiments conducted with animals and people have demonstrated that drinking tea with coffee can reduce the production of abdominal fat. This makes the waist area more pronounced and the figure toned.

#29 Don’t abuse alcohol

For every gram of alcohol-containing drink there are about 7 calories. This is due to the presence of liquid calories. The energy value of beer is similar to carbonated sweet drinks, and red wine is twice as much.

In moderation, alcohol will not have any effect on weight gain. Systematic use will inevitably affect your figure in the form of extra pounds gained. People who want to avoid having a belly should definitely give up alcohol or allow themselves only occasionally.

#30 Lead an active lifestyle

This does not apply to physical exercise, but to ordinary daily activities, that is, absolutely any movement performed daily by a person. When you do something not sitting, but standing or moving, the energy consumed increases by 5 or even 6 times.

There is no definitive evidence, but scientists believe that regular activity significantly increases energy expenditure. They reach up to two thousand calories per day. When talking on the phone, you should not just sit, stand up as much as possible, take the stairs, and not use the elevator.

Russian Twist

One of the best exercises for the obliques. Performed from a sitting position. It is important to pay attention to the position of your back: you need to round it in the thoracic region and, when lowering your body down, do not stretch with your shoulders, but try to lower this very thoracic region. The exercise is performed from an angle of approximately 45–50 degrees, that is, the body must be tilted back. Legs are bent at the knees and stand on the floor. We do not quickly turn first in one direction, then in the other. We do not fall on our elbows, but lightly touch the floor with our palms on each side. If this embodiment seems easy, to make it more difficult, you can also raise your legs at an angle of 45–50 degrees.

How much to do:

2 sets of 1 minute each. For the last 10 seconds of each approach, we tilt our body, bring our arms straight forward and freeze in this position.

Fitball for a flat stomach

Fitball is a set of exercises that are performed on a large soft gymnastic ball.
Depending on the number of repetitions and type of exercise, fitball can be performed by people with any physical fitness
The good thing about fitball is that it will help diversify your routine daily exercises. With its help you can load any muscle group
The advantage of fitball for those who have been involved in sports for a long time is the novelty of the load. By changing body position, the fitball uses new muscle groups

Fitball

Straight Leg Raise

This exercise works well on the rectus abdominis muscle, focusing on its lower part. The exercise is performed from a horizontal position, lying on your back. Your hands can be placed either along the body or raised above your head. The lower your legs go, the greater the load. As we inhale, we lower our legs down, and as we exhale, we lift them up. It is important not to jerk your legs up or lift your pelvis off the floor. During the exercise, a strong tension appears in the entire rectus abdominis muscle, but there is no burning sensation.

The exercise is quite complex, so it can be slightly easier if non-target muscles are felt more strongly during the process. One way to make it easier is to bend your knees and lower your legs to the middle. Another way is to place your hands behind your head and lift your shoulder blades off the floor, while keeping your knees bent and your legs lowering in a minimal amplitude.

How much to do:

2 sets of 1 minute each. The last 10 seconds of each approach we perform a slow lowering of the legs, the so-called puff.

Pilates for a flat stomach

Pilates is not intended for weight loss. If this is Pilates without the “admixture” of additional exercises, then it has a health function
Despite the fact that you won’t be able to lose weight with Pilates, it is an excellent auxiliary method. Pilates allows you to make your muscles less stiff. Pain in the back and joints goes away and tight muscles relax
Also, Pilates develops flexibility and makes it easier to endure physical activity.
Pilates can be practiced daily. These could be warm-up exercises. Or you can do Pilates on days when you don't go to the gym
Although Pilates is not aimed at losing weight, it can tighten flabby abdominal muscles. Anyone can do Pilates, even severely overweight people.

Pilates

Synchronized lifting of the body and legs

This involves working the rectus abdominis muscle at full capacity. The exercise is performed from a horizontal position, lying on your back. Legs bent at the knees and standing on the floor, hands behind the head, chin pressed to the chest. As you exhale, simultaneously raise your body up as much as possible, and your legs at an angle of 90 degrees. We try to reach more with our elbows towards our knees. While inhaling, we also simultaneously place both legs and body on the floor. The “landing” must be synchronous. We carefully ensure that the angle of the knees does not change. When lowering your legs down, the trajectory of movement should correspond to an angle of 90 degrees, that is, when you put your feet on the floor, your heels should not be near your buttocks. By the middle to the end of the approach, a burning sensation should form in the upper part of the abdomen, and tension in the lower part.

How much to do:

2 sets of 1 minute each. For the last 10 seconds of each approach, we perform the pulse only with the body, without the participation of the legs, in a short amplitude.

Exercises for abdominal muscles in the gym

The gym can be visited by people who do not have health contraindications. For those who are significantly overweight, it is also best to start with exercises at home
Visiting the gym is very disciplined. By purchasing a subscription, the likelihood of missing a workout decreases
If you come to the gym for the first time, ask your instructor for help. His services probably cost extra money. However, he will give you a well-thought-out program and help you understand the effects of the exercise equipment.
Decide why you came to the gym. If you want to build muscle mass, you need to do exercises with heavy weights and a minimum of repetitions. If your goal is to lose weight, then you need to do a lot of quick repetitions with light weights.
Women often avoid going to the gym. citing the fact that they will look like “jocks”. This is absurd. To pump up even the minimum of sculpted muscle mass, it is not enough for a woman to go to the gym 3 times a week
Don't overdo it when training in the gym. Heavy weights can damage joints and cartilage, which are very difficult to repair.
Remember the rule: it is better to do more sets of fewer times than more times in one approach.

Exercises in the gym

How to get a thin waist in a week

There are several effective exercises to reduce your waist size in just 7 days. It often happens that in a short period of time you need to go to the beach or have been invited to a party by the pool, and there is almost no time left to reduce your waist. Then this method is especially for you, although you should resort to it very, very rarely and only when absolutely necessary. This method is not very unpleasant, but sudden weight loss can adversely affect your body. During the week you should follow these conditions:

You need to do a fasting day for the body , and on this day you can choose between fruits, buckwheat or kefir. During the diet, you need to completely exclude flour, fatty, fried, sweet foods from your diet, and also not drink coffee or eat various store-bought sauces. Try to eat every 3-4 hours, and after 6 pm you should avoid eating altogether. Try to include as many fresh vegetables, light soups, green tea, boiled chicken breasts, and low-fat cottage cheese in your diet during this period. And also during this period you should engage in special physical exercises to reduce your waist.
Training time is a maximum of 1 hour , in the first 40 minutes the active process of fat burning will begin, after 60 minutes of continuous training, your body will begin to get tired and the effectiveness of exercises for a thin waist will begin to decrease significantly.
Set aside the first 20 - 30 minutes for cardio training , for example: on an exercise bike, gradually increase the speed, make sure that your breathing remains even, rest to restore strength and breathing is excluded.
After this part of the training, the stage of the exercises themselves for a beautiful belly and thin waist.