How to reduce the abdomen: 4 elements

Diet

Cardio

Sleep

Stomach exercises

There are only a few ways to effectively reduce your belly:

Fat burning

Training the abdominal muscles

Normalization of hormonal background

Liposuction

Sports pharmacology

The main causes of the abdomen:

Abdominal obesity.

The appearance of excessive subcutaneous fat;

The formation of fat around internal organs behind a layer of muscle.

Weakening and stretching of the abdominal muscles;

Enlargement of abdominal organs (splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, megacolon);

Diseases (increased cortisol levels, kwashiorkor, rickets, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes

Alcohol consumption

Nutritional disorders (lack of complete protein excessive simple sugars, especially fructose

According to the WHO classification, a waist circumference greater than 94 cm for men and greater than 80 cm for women increases the risk of obesity-related diseases.

The owner of the largest abdomen

There are various ways to measure abdominal obesity, including:

Absolute waist circumference (OT> 102 cm in men and> 88 cm in women)

Waist-to-hip ratio (waist circumference to hip circumference> 0.9 for men and> 0.85 for women)

An indicator for overweight is the Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI = body weight/height2 (kg/m2).

The Braungardt index is also used, in contrast to BMI, which takes into account a person's physique.

MRI is considered to be the most accurate method of determining the amount of adipose tissue in the body.

At home the amount of adipose tissue in the human body is usually determined by home scales with a body composition analyzer using the bioimpedance method.

How to lose the abdomen?

Exercises on the abs

Without eliminating the causes, it is impossible to remove a large belly and get relief abs with cubes. Sometimes only one causal factor matters (in the case of a disease), but often several subclinical factors are superimposed at once.

A comprehensive approach must be taken to address the interrelated challenges. A study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism[10] suggests that combining aerobic exercise with weight training is more effective than aerobic exercise alone. An additional benefit of these workouts: increased stress tolerance and insulin levels, which in turn reduce cortisol, which contributes to fat accumulation.

When you perform various physical exercises, you not only strengthen your abs, but you also expend energy, which results in effective fat burning. By increasing the stamina and strength of your abs, you also help improve blood circulation and normalize bowel function, which the movements during abs training act as a gentle massage.

Studies by the San Diego Institute of Biomechanics (USA) have shown that among the exercises for abs there are those in which the electrical activity of the muscles is higher than in others. In particular, electromyography was used to measure each of the following muscle groups - straight, external/internal obliques, for their activation in one or another exercise. The results of the study gave this list of the best abs exercises in general and for each department in particular.

Top 3 best abs exercises

Lean back biking

Leg/Knee ups on uneven bars

Curls on a fitball

As for the best exercises for individual abdominal muscles, the situation is as follows:

straight/ oblique m.j. - curls on a fitball, reverse curls, roller, bar, raising the knees while hanging on the wall bars, vertical curls (feet up) lying on the floor, curls with arms and torso raising, roller; bicycle curls, side curls lying on the floor.

The best exercise aimed at developing the strength of the bark muscles is the plank.

Ways to lose weight

For effective rapid impact on the waist and abdomen should train the muscles of the whole body. The body's expenditure of fat is manifested not only in the place on which the exercise is aimed at, but also in the whole body. For example, during squats not only fat deposits on the legs are burned, but also on the whole body. That is why physical activity should be comprehensive and aimed at all muscle groups.

The more varied the exercises included in the daily workout, the faster your stomach will become tighter. The sports program should have an impact on the whole body, strong muscles are great for expending energy, and therefore quickly get rid of excess subcutaneous fat.

The basic rule that will lead you to success is to solve two main tasks:

Organizing a proper rational diet;

Regularly performing a set of exercises to burn excess fat.

Vacuum exercise

Professional fitness instructors recommend the vacuum exercise for a flat stomach. To get visible results, you need to perform it daily for 3 weeks.

Exercise technique

The result depends on the efforts made and the correct technique of performing this exercise. Do it twice a day: in the morning on an empty stomach and in the evening (a couple of hours before dinner). The duration of one exercise is 5-10 minutes.

"Vacuum" can be performed in three initial body positions:

Standing, feet shoulder width apart, slightly bent forward, knees slightly bent, buttocks slightly set back, hands resting on the legs in the area just above the knees.

Lying on your back, legs bent at the knees and standing on the floor. Perform the "vacuum" from this position if you cannot hold on or are uncomfortable doing it from position 1.

Standing on your knees, resting on straight arms, with your back rounded.

Now gently exhale the air from your lungs - so that it comes out completely. Hold your breath for a couple of seconds, pulling your stomach in and tensing your abs as much as possible.

Then slowly inhale, and as you exhale repeat the abdominal retraction and abs tension. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth and folded lips.

There is another variation of this exercise: the initial positions of the body are the same, but the technique differs. We exhale all the air, then take a shallow breath, hold the breath and tense the abdominal muscles, then continue the breath and again delay and tension - do so until a full inhale. Repeat the same with an exhalation.

To start, you can practice without holding your breath, just on the inhale and exhale alternately retracting and inflating the abdomen. By the way, such retractions are recommended after childbirth to reduce abdominal volume and tone up abs.

The number of repetitions should be increased gradually. Start with 2-3 times and with time bring them to 10-15.

Proper Nutrition

Even the most effective set of exercises and intensive training will not help you if you eat too much food: you stuff yourself immediately after classes, overdo the caloric content of your diet or consume high-calorie, easily digestible food.

To get better results, adjust your diet. Nutrition has a direct impact on how quickly and effectively the problem is solved. The WHO recommends that for successful weight loss calculate your normal caloric intake, and then reduce it by 500 kcal each month until you reach 300-500 kcal below your normal caloric intake. For people who are not physically active this value is 1,500-2,000 kcal.

The main recommendations for keeping to a diet: to consume products with a high content of fiber, vitamins and other biologically active components (cereals and wholemeal products, vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, etc.) and to limit the use of easily digestible carbohydrates (sugar, sweets, pastries, bread and pasta products from flour of the highest grades).

Remember: if you eat more than the norm, your body does not waste fat, but only accumulates it, and at the same time there are even more extra pounds. The prerequisite for getting rid of fat and belly is to create a calorie deficit.

Read more: Diet to lose weight and Diet to burn fat

Fat deposits on the abdomen neutralize dihydrotestosterone

Deposits on the sides and abdomen of men have a negative impact on overall health. Researchers at Laval University in Canada have identified new effects of fatty deposits on the body.

Enzymes in adipose tissue not only convert testosterone to estradiol, but also convert dihydrotestosterone to inactive components. Overweight men are often deficient in androgenic hormones. In the clinical setting, doctors usually treat this by prescribing anti-estrogens such as letrozole and courses of testosterone therapy. But testosterone injections can't be the only remedy. The more fat a man has, the weaker the response to testosterone therapy and the more side effects.

The more fat, the more enzymes in the body that deactivate dihydrotestosterone. The latter is converted into 5-alpha-androstane 3-alpha,17-beta-diol and 5-alpha-androstane 3-beta,17-beta-diol by contact with fat tissue. Anti-estrogens are no longer able to interfere with this conversion.

When scientists studied subcutaneous and abdominal fat in obese and lean men, they found that the highest degree of dihydrotestosterone conversion occurred in subcutaneous fat. The most active enzymes are found in adult fat cells, adipocytes. While immature fat cells - preadipocytes do not show such activity in dihydrotestosterone conversion. The more fat you have, the more dihydrotestosterone is converted in your body. The more fat you have, the more adipocyte conversion activity you have.

What is the danger of decreased dihydrotestosterone?

Because one of the forms of testicular feminization syndrome - insensitivity of tissues to testosterone - is associated with a reduced or zero formation of dihydrotestosterone from testosterone. That is, the main male sex hormone loses its ability to act on the target cells and tissues, causing the necessary biological changes in them.

Belly fat increases the risk of death

In a study conducted by a team of scientists from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, people of normal weight and obesity in the abdominal area were twice as likely to die compared to people who were overweight or obese according to BMI. This is because central obesity is associated with increased accumulation of visceral fat, which is stored around a number of internal organs, such as the liver, pancreas and intestines. And visceral fat is said to be more harmful and can lead to insulin resistance, which in turn becomes a precursor to type 2 diabetes, entails high cholesterol and many chronic diseases.