The "secret" for a flat belly

Hello world :)

Today I want to clarify something very important, because I don't want to be misunderstood. I am not a professional trainer or nutritionist or something like that, but I can reassure you that I am well-informed about those topics and I claim that I have enough knowledge and experience that allows me to share my recipes, fitness tips etc. with you. Apart from that I want to get clear that every body 'works' in a different way and only because it works for me doesn't mean it will work for you too. My aim is not to make generalizations, but rather to listen and get to know your body so you can identify if this is what you 'need' or not. ;)

Let's come to the interesting part... Summer is just around the corner and most of us want to get in shape for the upcoming bikini season. Unfortunately there is often one little 'problem', which is located on our belly and hips. This type of fat is very persistent and especially for women it is very hard to get rid of it. But believe me... it is definitely not a thing of impossibility.. this is also my 'biggest' challenge and it requires discipline and hard work. 

Concerning this point I have one good and one bad news. The 'bad' news is: "Abs* are made in the kitchen". What does this sentence mean? It points out that a flat belly normally comes from 70% clean diet and 30% exercise -> but once again.. this is not the 'one and only' rule! This is only an approximate value. Of course there are some people who can eat anything they like and have a flat belly (I do definitely not belong to those :P). The good news is you can support this by training your abdominal muscles with the right (!) exercises (doing only 100 sit-ups a day do not count as 'right'). It is a mix of static stabilization, dynamic & integrated stabilization and (in my opinion) weight training. 

For those who cannot imagine what this entails, I assembled a workout plan with MY favorite exercises including static, dynamic & integrated stabilization and some probably well-known where you can incorporate weights (if you want a higher challenge)

Workout for a flat belly:  

The list below is one round (6 minutes) -> do it twice with a break (12 minutes)
Make sure you do a warm up before your training and don't have any injuries etc. If those explanations are to imprecise for you just go on youtube and watch a clip like I have done it at "Russian Twists".

• Forearm Plank with lifted leg: lift your leg straight up and hold (repeat on the other side)
  30 seconds each side
  
• Thai Plank: go in a forearm Plank and bring your bent right leg to your right forearm (then the other side)
  30 seconds each side
  
• Moutain Climbers on a gymnastic ball: place your hands at the side of the ball so that you are in a plank position, than pull your bent right leg to your chest (repeat on the other side)
  30 seconds
  
• Side abdominal muscles with dumbbells: stand up straight with both feets hip width and hold a dumbbell (I use two 3,5kg dumbbells) in every hand, your arms are normally hanging down, now move your upper body slightly to the left side (your lower body is not moving) so that you feel a strain on your right abdominal muscle (repeat on the other side)
  30 seconds each side
  
• Side Plank with hip raise: go into a forearm side plank and drop your hip (sidwise) to the floor and then up again (repeat on the other side)
  30 seconds each side
  
• Leg Raises: lying flat on your back and hands underneath your coccyx bone, keep your feet together and legs straight, contract your abdominal muscles and lift your legs up until they form a 90 degree angle with your hips, down and repeat
  30 seconds
  
• Ab bikes: lying flat on your back, hands to your ears, now pull your bent right leg to your left ellbow, the other leg is straight, repeat to the other side and go a little faster!
  30 seconds
  
• Russian Twists with/without weight
  30 seconds

So whether your aim is to really have a flat belly or if you only want to do something good for your body - try this! Most of these exercises can be performed at home so you can't bring the excuse "I don't have a gym membership" :)

I have a request to you... please comment below (click on "no comments") what you think about this post and my blog! I would love to hear what I should improve or what you are interested in.. if I should bring more recipes, fitness stuff, motivation things or simply nothing :P (no just kidding.. please no rude comments). You can also comment anonymous if you don't want to give your name or something :)

Thank you and have a nice day!

* this means your abdominal muscles are apparent caused by the nonexistent fat

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