So, you think you have to be up and moving to work your abs, right? You have to get down on the floor and do sit ups, crunches and ab rolls in order to build rock solid abs? What if I told you that you could be working out your abs right now while you are reading this? Because you can!
Any form of tightening your muscles burns calories. While traditional workouts are recommended, you can exercise while you are stationary too.
How to Work Your Abs While Stationary
Simply tightening your abdominal muscles on a regular basis is enough to begin developing strong abdominal muscles. To do this, exhale completely, tighten your abdominal muscles and draw your belly button toward your lower back.
This type of workout is considered a miniature sit-up, while it doesn’t work all of your abdominal muscles, it does work the muscles that produce that beautiful six pack that you are looking for.
Who Is This Type of Exercise Aimed At?
This type of exercise is aimed at anyone who has an office job that does not require them to be active for long periods of time. While you are stationary, fat is building around your mid-section and developing another layer on top of those muscles you are working tirelessly to develop.
While tightening your abdominal muscles will not burn a lot of fat, tightening your abs in this method in repetitions of ten, 10 times per day can create a great muscle burn and burn up to 200 calories. That is 200 calories that you don’t have to burn later in your regular workout!
Calories to Pounds
It is assumed through research studies that 3,500 k/cals are equivalent to 1 pound of body fat. This means that in 17 and ½ days, you could burn 1 pound of body fat while sitting on your bum.
Trade In Your Office Chair for a Yoga Ball
By trading in your office chair for a yoga ball, you are challenging your muscles. To maintain your balance on the ball, you must use your abdominal muscles and your back muscles to keep your posture upright. This means that the entire time you are sitting at your desk, you are working out and having fun doing it.
You should of course check with your boss before making this transition to ensure that it is not against company policy.
Regulating Your Diet
If you are stationary most of your day, it is wise to choose healthy snacks. Foods like negative calorie snacks will greatly help your weight loss efforts and allow your muscles to become more defined under the surface. So instead of that afternoon snack cake, pack carrots or celery to ensure that your afternoon snack does not cancel out your evening workout.
Working Out, Managing Your Diet and Still Having Trouble Burning Belly Fat?
If you feel that you are doing the best you can with your workout, and you feel you are managing your diet efficiently, it may be time to see a dietitian. A dietitian can help you adjust your diet according to your lifestyle and habits to reach your weight loss goals.
They can also tell you if your weight loss goals are unrealistic or recommend certain health care testing to take care of any condition that may be standing in the way of your goals.