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Every week, Dr. Jean-Marc Sène, sports doctor, presents his sports column in Priorité Santé. No longer being tight in his jeans, having a slender silhouette, making the unpleasant feelings of bloating disappear: this week, he talks to us about abdominal muscles.
What is the solution to have a flat stomach?
If food has a primordial role in this quest, physical activity is all the more so. Only a good reinforcement of the abdominal strap will make it possible to have and above all to keep the stomach flat and toned. Dedicating one session per week to targeted strengthening of the area to be refined is essential to obtain rapid and lasting results. Here are some exercises and techniques to help you:
The abdominal plank
Lie on your stomach and support yourself on your forearms and tiptoes, then lift your pelvis. Contract your buttocks and tuck your stomach in and hold the position for 10 seconds.
Le Stomach Vacuum
Lie on your back, inflate your stomach by inhaling fully, exhale all your air by tucking your stomach under your ribs, hold for a few seconds, then resume your breath.
Hypopressive abs
They are carried out by controlling the breath: lie down on the ground, inhale by inflating the belly, exhale by digging the belly and empty all the air from your lungs, block your breath for 10 seconds by keeping the belly and the perineum tight and then catch your breath.
squats
If squats work the buttocks, they also stimulate the muscles of the abdominal strap. For this exercise, you must stand upright, spread your legs hip-width apart, and keep your arms straight. Once in position, inhale and bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Come back up, exhale and relax your arms. The descent and the ascent are slow gestures. During the exercise, avoid leaning forward and rounding your back. Your heels should never come off the ground.
Cardio activity should be interesting too?
In addition to strengthening, it is essential to do a cardio activity to tap into fat and thin the fatty layer that can be responsible for a round belly:
Running (running)
Running is excellent for this: all the abdominal muscles are solicited during your session. It is also an activity that requires a lot of energy (on average, you burn between 700 and 1,000 calories per hour) and which is therefore profitable in the time spent, for fat loss, provided you hold at least 30-45 minutes and repeat your sessions 2-3 times a week.
To train, you can engage in outdoor or indoor sessions by running on a treadmill. Running on an empty stomach, only if you are already a little trained, will allow you to burn more fat cells.
Swimming
It is also a very good cardio sport that allows you to harmoniously strengthen the body in general, but especially the abdominals. Indeed, the resistance of the water requires an additional effort, while being soft, because you are carried by the gravity of the water. Front crawl, breaststroke, swimming with fins, all specialties will be beneficial.
More broadly, all the sports offered in the swimming pool will be effective because the drainage of water on the skin helps the visual effect of a flat stomach by helping to erase cellulite. To work this area more intensely, consider aquagym classes, which are very effective for having a flat stomach without traumatizing the joints.
Despite technical names, do not be afraid to test one of the following courses:
- Water running
- Aquatrampoline
- Aquabiking
… Or another course of your choice. These courses are accessible to everyone.
What if we don’t like running or swimming?
Pilates
This gentle sport is demanding and effective for sculpting your figure. With this physical activity, the movements are done gently, the postures must be held for a long time and the sequences must be carried out at your own pace.
If you are looking to lose belly fat, pilates is also a sports activity to be preferred. Why ? Because this sport insists on sheathing (an effective practice to refine) and solicits deep muscles that other sports do not necessarily target. Pilates also relies on abdominal breathing, a technique that promotes relaxation and gives good results on the silhouette. To take advantage of the effects of this sport, it is advisable to follow two sessions per week.
And yoga
Do you want to get started in a sport that makes you lose belly and which favors relaxation? Focus on yoga. This discipline includes several effective exercises to lose abdominal fat. Try it and you will be amazed!
The rower
Rowing is the ideal sport for burning fat smoothly and without the risk of injury. It can be found in most gyms and fitness centers. It is cardio while strengthening the bust and abs. Very complete, this sport works almost all the muscles of the body.
A one-hour rowing session can burn up to 800 calories while toning your entire body. It’s the most gym-friendly machine for your quest for a flat stomach. The elliptical trainer comes in second place, just behind the rower.