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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Stud & Strength

Get the Abs You Have Always Wanted

Get ready to have those abs you’ve always wanted! A flat stomach isn’t just about looking great in your clothes – it also cuts your risk of heart disease, diabetes and other health problems. So, here are some easy, tummy-shrinking tips, courtesy of Health magazine.

  • Do the bicycle. Crunches only work your rectus abdominus – AKA: your six-pack. So you need the bicycle. Lie with your hands behind your head, and alternate touching each elbow to the opposite knee. These will target your other, just as important ab muscles.
  • Crank them out on a stability ball. According to the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, you’ll engage more muscles than you would doing traditional crunches. This isn’t an excuse to skip the bicycle. Do both.
  • Choose your yogurt wisely. Researchers at Purdue University found that rats who ate saccharine-sweetened yogurt gained more weight and body fat, including around the waistline, than those who ate sugar-sweetened yogurt.
  • Increase your calcium intake. Dieters who got 12-to-13-hundred milligrams of daily calcium, in a University of Tennessee study, reduced their waistline three times as much as those eating the same amount of calories, but getting less calcium.
  • Don’t just exercise the abs! According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, doing full-body strength training twice a week decreases overall body fat, especially around the middle.
  • If you’re going on a date, don’t sip through a straw! You’ll swallow extra air, which will bloat you around the middle.

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