10 quick tips

Here's a quick quide you can follow to help flatten your stomach. Print this list out and post it somewhere in your house where you'll see it.
1. Walk/jog for 30 minutes at least 3 times per week to boost your metabolism in order to burn that fat.
2. Eat a small handful of almonds (at least 6) every morning. Almonds are one of the healthiest snacks you can eat and the protein is good for burning fat.
3. Purchase a Pilates DVD and do the exercises at least 2-3 times per week. Pilates works on toning your entire body with concentration on your powerhouse (middle section) and will improve your flexibility.
4. Add fiber to your diet and cut down your intake of the bad carbs. Foods such as white bread, pastas, potatoes, and white rice should be limited. Eat brown rice and whole wheat bread instead. To get that needed fiber increase your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables (especially the leafy green ones).
5. Drink skim milk instead of whole milk. Keep your dairy intake at a minimum because these products often cause bloating and gas.
6. Perform proper crunches at least 3 times a week to train your abs. Avoid sit-ups because they really do very little to firm your stomach. Sit-ups work your hip flexors more than anything else.
7. Drink plenty of water. You should be drinking 6 to 8 glasses per day. Not only will it help fill you up so you eat less, but it aids in digestion.
8. Stop eating within 3 hours of bedtime. If you have to munch on something, eat a small portion of vegetables or fruit. Not eating late can make a huge difference.
9. Eat smaller meals more often instead of 2-3 big meals per day to keep from having that bloated look and feeling. Eating more meals actually kicks up your metabolism.
10. Take a break from healthy eating once in a while and treat yourself to your favorite dessert. If you completely deprive yourself of the foods you love you'll run the risk of going back to your bad eating habits. Moderation is the key.

Try This Crazy Fat-Burning Workout...

A uniquely different style of cardio-combo-weight-training workout
by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist

I just have a couple quick, yet cool tricks for you today for workout modifications that can help you break training plateaus.

Idea #1 - The weights / cardio high intensity combo workout...
This is a totally different way to structure your workouts and is great for breaking a plateau and getting new results.

Most people either do a session of "cardio exercise" before or after their workout or on different days altogether.

You already know my opinion on boring slow pace cardio so I won't go into that today... BUT, try this workout for really interesting variety!

How you do this workout is to alternate short 1-minute bursts of high intensity cardio work in between weight training sets.

So for example, let's say that you're doing 4 sets of pullups or 4 sets of bench press.... well, in between the weight training sets, you do any type of cardio at a high intensity for 1 minute.

This 1 minute burst of cardio could be a 1 min blast at high speed on the treadmill, could be sprinting around a track if you have a track at your gym, or could be grabbing a jump rope and banging out a super high speed 1 min of jump roping between sets.

So your exercises are broken down like this:

weight training set #1
60 seconds high intensity cardio
weight training set #2
60 seconds high intensity cardio
weight training set #3
60 seconds high intensity cardio

etc, etc
new exercise weight training set #1
60 seconds high intensity cardio

new exercise weight training set #2
60 seconds high intensity cardio

etc, etc
This a tough style of workout
and burns a TON of calories. If you find your workouts need a new boost, give this a try, and you'll be shocked how hard this works you.

Idea #2:  the "weird pullup"...

I've tried this on occasion to mix up my pullups and give me a harder variation as a challenge.
This type of pullup is only for advanced trainees that can already do at least 8-10 normal pullups or more per set.

What you do on this challenging style of pullup is use 2 small towels and wrap them around the bar at about shoulder width for each towel. The small "hand towel" size towels work best, as a large towel will make too large of a grip for grabbing onto for pullups.  You wrap each towel around the pullup bar so that at least 6-8 inches of towel are hanging below the pullup bar.

Then grip the towels as hard as you can (from the hanging towel sections below the bar) and start doing pullups.  You're basically only gripping the hanging towel and not the pullup bar itself.  You won't be able to do as many pullups as normal because of the tough grip, so do a few extra sets.

I can tell you... these are HARD pullups and challenge your grip immensely! Only try these if you are already very strong on pullups.  Great variation though to mix things up.

I hope you enjoyed these tips today and they help you get better workout results!

How to Exercise Your Love Handles

Love handles are the affectionate term given to that flabby area on the sides of your abdomen that you can't seem to get rid of.  The correct term is "obliques" and unfortunately this area of the body is often neglected when it comes to exercising the stomach and ab areas.

I cannot stress enough that you have to start with aerobic exercise if you want to trim any part of your stomach. Spot toning will prove ineffective because you need to raise your metabolism enough to burn that extra love handle fat. Remember, it's all about total body fitness and losing weight all over.

The number one misconception about stomach toning is that you can do spot reduction. You have to get your entire body into shape before you start seeing results.

Start a cardio exercise program at your home. Either buy aerobics DVDs or subscribe to a free personal trainer.

FREE ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINER! 12 Short Weeks to a Whole New You. Fast, Easy; IT WORKS! Only at Bodybuilding.com.


BodyBuilding.com is one of the coolest fitness sites I've ever seen. You'll gain access to hundreds of different exercise programs from one site, and you never have to leave your home. There are tons of different cardio exercise routines to help you burn fat and reduce those stubborn love handles.

While doing will help eliminate some of the fat around the obliques, here are some other exercises that focus more on the love handle area.

Leg Flutters

A lot of people don't realize that in order to tone your middle and love handle area you also need to strengthen your back. This creates a balance in your torso and reduces the fat on your back.
1. Lie on your stomach and lift your head up slightly
2. You can keep your arms straight out at your sides or bend them with your elbows resting beside you.
3. Lift your feet and knees off the floor and flutter your legs rapidly back and forth. Do this for 20 seconds. Take a 20 second break and then repeat again.

Twist Crunches

This exercise will work your internal and external obliques as well as the rectus abdominis. These are the two muscle groups that live around your waist. Fat is generally stored on top of these muscles, thus creating the love handle effect.
1. Lie on your back with your knees bent.
2. Carefully lift your head up and place your hands behind your head without locking your fingers together.
3. Twist to the right bringing your left elbow to your right knee. Extend your left leg out.
4. Now twist back to the left bringing your right elbow to your left knee. Extend your right leg out.
5. Repeat 25 times.

Standing Trunk Twists

This is a good aerobic-type exercise that will help get your heart rate up as well as burn some calories in your middle.
1. Stand with your feet about a foot apart and knees relaxed.
2. Twist your torso to the left while keeping your hips and legs as stable as possible. As you twist to the left, cross your right arm in front of your body in a punching motion.
3. Twist back to the right and cross your left arm over your body in a punching motion.
4. Do 100 reps.

The Bottom Line:

Just like getting rid of belly fat, love handles will only firm up if you start increasing your body's metabolism by exercising 3-4 times per week for at least 30 minutes. This does not only include crunches, sit ups, etc but aerobic-type exercises that will get your heart rate up.
Learning how to effectively tone your body is also key, and exercises like the ones in ABS for Life: The No. 1 Solution on How to Get Six Pack Abs.

Abs for Life Book Review

Your No-Hype Guide to Stripping Stomach Fat and Toning Those Abs!

ABS for Life: Most abs books are a waste of your money. Mainly because if you've read one, you've read them all. So as a rule, I don't usually buy them unless highly recommended by someone else.

But after reading The ABS for Life I couldn't wait to get to my computer to write this review. It was the best book on ab training that I've ever read and if you follow it, you will see results.



When I first skimmed the sales page for the book, I have to admit I almost didn't buy it because the copy looked a little hyped up and pitchy. It sounded like all the rest.

But what drew me in was that the author kept emphasizing the same points I talk about on this site when it comes to the myths on flattening your stomach so I became intrigued.

Still a bit skeptical, I purchased it anyway. However, I'm happy to tell you I was pleasantly surprised with its contents.

The ABS for Life is pages of solid information on how to best train your abs. Not only do they recommend the proper exercises, but they discuss diet and offers meal suggestions as well.

Neil is a personal trainer, which makes him a very credible source on the subject. I also liked the fact that he gives customers his email address and sends a helpful newsletter with great workout tips. He seems to genuinely want to help people and not just concerned about selling his book.