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Defeat of the beer belly

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hi

Whats the best exercise to flatten the belly? lol

Ive started to go swimming for an hour a day - 4 days a week. Is that a good way? Or should be I be doing something else?

thanks!

MeSquared

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah, swimming is good. Any exercise really.

    If you improve your abdominal muscles with situps and crunches and so on, you will improve the tone of your stomach, which will flatten it to an extent too.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Sit ups are good, but any kind of earobic excercise will help to burn off calories.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i read in fhm once about this breathing technique, and ive tried and tested and would recomend. im not too good at explaining this sort of thing, but here goes.

    Lie in a postition where your backs on the floor as and your knees are bent (as if your are about to start a sit-up)Breathe in normally, and as you breathe out tense your stomach inwards as if your trying to fit into a tight pair of trousers, hold for 2-3 seconds then relax as you breathe in. Repeat for about ten 10-20mins and you will feel that yout abs would have done a proper workout! Do this everyday.


    its great because you can do it while your watching TV or something. For a reference its in FHM either June or July 2003, in the health questions section near the back
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    the best way to get rid of the belly is stop excessive eating and beer. when you eat more than your body can digest it (metabolism etc) youll store fat and the belly is normally the first place to get it. despite what people say, what gets you fat when you drink beer is not the beer itself but what you eat before and after drinking. so watch out for that. on top of the two you should exercise regularly. its best too eat after exercising cos thats when your body burns energy (fat) the quickest. even if you exercise but you dont watch what you eat and the beer it would be difficult to shrink that stomach. dont eat before you sleep. if you cant help the urge, i suggest to eat nuts. this is how i got rid of my belly.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    A decent diet and cardio exercises is the best way while cutting down on your alcahol intake. Keep it to about 3-4 pints a week.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanks for the replies!

    I dont drink much to be honest, but I am a big fan of chocolate :( lol

    I've been trying to eat apples instead of chocolate but its hard work haha

    Im gonna try keep up the swimming and i'll try the breathing thing, perhaps some situps before i go to sleep - How many should a fairly unfit person try?

    thanks again.

    MeSquared
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MeSquared wrote:
    How many should a fairly unfit person try?
    start off slowely... just do a few, as much as you can manage at first without straining yourself... and build it up gradually, day after day. :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Beer guts
    the quest for the six pack

    (sorry, couldn't work out if you're m or f!)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Stop drinking beer, simple as.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Stop drinking beer, simple as.

    He doesn't have to, he can still drink beer but is moderation. Simple as.

    And MeSquared, sit-ups won't do shit unless you get rid of the belly first, you won't notice any difference.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi

    Im male :P

    again thanks for the help!

    Got a question about the crunches/ab curls whatever you call them, when im doing them I get a pain just below my ribs - goes away in about 10 seconds after I stop. My question is should I stop once I feel that pain then start again once its gone, or should I be carrying on and ignoring it?

    thanks!

    MeSquared
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    He doesn't have to, he can still drink beer but is moderation. Simple as.

    .
    well lager is pretty high in calories.
    A pint of premium lager such as stella, contains about 250 calories - roughly the same as a mars bar.
    Now if you went out of a night and ate 6 mars bars or more, then you wouldnt be on here asking why you had a tum.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I know a bad diet and alot of calories creates a beer belly im not stupid, all I asked advice for was the best exercise to help get rid of it.

    rainbow brite im not on here asking why ive got a tum??
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MeSquared wrote:

    rainbow brite im not on here asking why ive got a tum??
    Ah, but I always like to go that extra mile when answering questions :P
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MeSquared wrote:
    I know a bad diet and alot of calories creates a beer belly im not stupid, all I asked advice for was the best exercise to help get rid of it.

    rainbow brite im not on here asking why ive got a tum??

    may be though you do need to rethink your lifestyle wrt alcohol / beer... becasue no matter how much exercise you do, its still going to be a problem.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MeSquared wrote:
    Hi

    Im male :P

    again thanks for the help!

    Got a question about the crunches/ab curls whatever you call them, when im doing them I get a pain just below my ribs - goes away in about 10 seconds after I stop. My question is should I stop once I feel that pain then start again once its gone, or should I be carrying on and ignoring it?

    thanks!

    MeSquared


    They will not do anything until you lose your gut. I've said this before, just doing stomach crunches will not make you loose weight, it will only exercise the muscles under the fat. The ONLY way to show your abs is to lose that layer of fat covering them. The way to lose the abdominal fat is by dieting and regular cardio exercise.

    Don't eat crisps, chocolate, pastry, or anything that is high in fat. Stick to about 5000 calories a day. Run, skip swim, anything that is good cardio exercise.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    5000 calories a day? That's over double the recommended calorie intake for a man doing at least 30minutes of exercise per day.
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