Fitness and Exercise - Ab Belt Report

How To Have A Body That Can Rock Skinny Jeans

By AbBeltGal on September 23, 2012

Skinny jeans are all the rage. It’s rare for a certain piece of wardrobe to be well-liked and well-worn by both men and women, but skinny jeans definitely make the cut.

Not everyone has the body to rock them, though. If you’re a woman and have deemed yourself not skinny jean-worthy, we have a few tips to help you sculpt a body that can rock sexy skinny jeans.

Although women with various body proportions can wear them, skinny jeans look best on women with slim hips, slim thighs, and a firm backside. If you are not naturally blessed with these physical attributes, then it’s time you lose fat and tone your thighs and butt.

To burn fat, you will have to watch your diet and perform adequate cardio activities daily. To tone up, incorporate this routine in your workout program four to six times a week to see fantastic results:

For Your Hips

* Standing Side Kick
1. Stand with your hands on your hips and your feet hip-width apart.
2. Extend your right leg to the side slowly until it is at hip height.
3. Count to 3 before lowering your leg to the floor.
4. Repeat 15 times before switching sides.

* Hip Raise
1. Lie flat on your back with arms on your side, knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Lift your hips off the floor and extend your left leg towards the wall.
3. Count to 3 before lowering your leg to starting position.
4. Repeat 15 times before switching sides.

For Your Thighs

* Squat with Ball
1. Place a stability ball between the wall and your lower back.
2. Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
3. Slowly lower your body down by bending your knees until your thighs are 90 degrees parallel to the floor.
4. Count to 3 before standing back up.
5. Repeat 15 times.

* Plie
1. Stand with your feet about 5 inches wider than hip-width apart and your toes pointing outward.
2. Bring your body down to a squat position while bringing your arms straight in front of you at the same time. Contract your glutes and make sure to not let your knees go past your toes.
3. Go back to starting position after 3 counts.
4. Repeat 15 times.

For Your Butt

* Facedown Hip External Rotation
1. Lie on your stomach with arms folded under your head, face towards the side, and legs extended straight.
2. Bend your right leg with your knee pointing out. Place your foot on the back of your left knee without raising your hips off the floor.
3. Lift your right knee while contracting your right butt check without raising your hip.
4. Count 2 before going back to starting position.
5. Repeat 15 times before switching sides.

* Dumbbell Bent-Knee Deadlift
1. Place a pair of 15-pound dumbbells on the floor in front you.
2. Go down into a squat position and pick up the dumbbells, keeping your lower back slightly arched and your chest up.
3. Stand up with the dumbbells, making sure to contract your glutes.
4. Count to 3 before lowering the dumbbells to the floor, still keeping your back arched and chest up.
5. Repeat 15 times.

Filed Under: diet, Fitness and Exercise, Health Lifestyle Tagged With: firm butt, firm thighs, slim hips, slim thighs

How To Have Slimmer Thighs

By AbBeltGal on September 9, 2012

Everyone has a weakness for the perfect legs – men love them in women and women would die to have them. Though great legs come in all shapes and proportions, but the best looking ones come with slim and well-toned thighs.

Like most body parts, our thighs tend to get flabbier and chubbier as we grow older, especially if we do not follow a healthy diet and a regular exercise regimen.

Thunder thighs, as some mean girls in school like to call them, are unattractive and can make you self-conscious in whatever type of shorts or pants you wear. If you have thighs you feel uncomfortable wearing clothes in, it’s time to do something to slim them down.

Here are some of the best ways to have thighs that men go crazy over and other women would envy:

1. Walk, jog, or run

The easiest way to slim down your thighs is walking, jogging, or running. A simple walk around the block, a morning jog, or an afternoon run at least once a day will do wonders for your thighs. Just make sure to wear comfortable shoes when doing so.

2. Ride a bike

If you have a gym membership, spend a good 15-20 on the stationary bike. Bike riding is a great exercise to reduce leg fat as it is said to result in a calorie-burn of 500-600 in an hour.

3. Weight train

To have the perfect legs, you do not only want them slim — you want them well-toned. So, lose the fat and build muscle in your thighs by doing some weight training. If you’re worried about bulking, you can seek the help of a fitness instructor for the right weights and reps.

4. Use a stability ball

Lie on your back with your legs resting on a stability ball. Lift your hips up, and, using your legs, slowly roll the ball towards your hips. Roll your hips back down and repeat. This exercise is not only good for slimming your thighs; it’s great for toning your abs too.

Here’s also another way to use a stability ball for slimmer thighs:

5. Avoid fatty foods

Your hips and thighs are the most common areas fats go when you consume foods rich in them. Avoid fatty foods and there will be less fat to be stored in your legs.

6. Drink lots of water

Aim to consume at least 8 glasses of water each day. Water not only helps get rid of toxins in the body, it also helps get rid of cellulite that is common in women with chubby thighs.

Remember, if you’ve had chubby thighs since you can remembbber, it may be tough to get slim them down at first. Don’t lose patience and follow these steps religiously and you will have slim, shapely thighs you’ve always wanted.

Filed Under: diet, Fitness and Exercise, Health Lifestyle Tagged With: diet, exercise, lose weight, slim thighs

The Beginner’s Guide To Having Flat Abs

By AbBeltGal on August 26, 2012

By today’s standards, a tight core is the centerpiece for any muscular physique — for men and women alike. Flat abs are not just sexy, they’re a sign of your health and strength too. No wonder why it is one of the most eye-catching features of your body.

Although tight, strong abs are what most people work hard at the gym for, not everyone will get to see the results they want — especially beginners. If you are a beginner who is looking for the best program that can help you achieve washboard abs, then follow this guide and you will have one in no time.

1. Be consistent in doing cardiovascular exercises.

Cardio exercises have numerous benefits, and one of them is weight loss. You may wonder why you have to lose weight when all you want is flat abs. The truth is that it doesn’t matter how hard you work your core, you’ll never get a chance to see it flat and fabulous if there’s a layer of fat covering it.

To make flat abs visible, you need to get rid of fat in the belly. However, since it’s not possible to force your body to lose fat in just one particular area, you need to burn fat from all over the body, and the best way to do this is to perform cardio exercises.

A 30-minute jog or 20-minute run on the treadmill 3-4 times a week should be sufficient to lose belly fat and keep it off.

2. Be mindful of your eating habits.

To prep your body for killer abs, you need to watch what and how much food you eat. Refrain from eating junk foods and start adding fruits and green vegetables to your meals instead. If switching drastically seems pretty hard to do, you can enjoy a burger or a Coke float now and then but consume only half of what you normally do, or share them with a friend.

Cutting calorie intake in half will help stave off belly fat, thus giving your sculpted abs a chance to become visible.

3. Perform ab workouts.

There are countless of ab workouts you can do, but as a beginner, you can start doing crunches or sit ups. As soon as you become too familiar with these exercises, you can switch to other routines that work different muscles in your abdominal area.

To get the most out of abdominal exercises, you can wear an ab toning belt while doing them.

A key note to remember when it comes to getting toned, well-sculpted abs: One of the main reasons why a lot of people just cannot achieve washboard abs is that they give up too easily. As a beginner, some of these ab exercises may prove to be tough to perform, but they will get easier in time.

Do not stick to one program though. It is always best to vary your exercise routine to keep your ab muscles guessing and, more importantly, working.

Filed Under: ab belts, Ab workouts, diet, Fitness and Exercise, Health Lifestyle Tagged With: diet, exercise, flat abs

What is Green Tea and How Can It Help You Lose Weight?

By AbBeltGal on August 25, 2012

According to the book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life by Nadine Taylor, green tea has been used by ancient Chinese people for at least 4,000 years to cure various health problems ranging from mild headaches to severe depression.

Having originated from China and is still closely associated with various cultures found in Asia, green tea today has become more widespread in the West (where black tea is traditionally consumed).

There has been enough evidence presented by scientific studies conducted in Asia and the West to prove that green tea benefits go way beyond helping relieve mild bodily pains, but symptoms of serious medical conditions as well, including rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, infection, impaired immune functions, and even cancer.

Green tea, however, is not only for those who are suffering certain illnesses, but for individuals who want to lose weight as well. If you are trying to shed excess pounds, drinking green tea can make the whole process a whole lot easier.

What exactly is green tea and how can it help you lose weight?

Green tea is a type of tea made solely from unfermented leaves of Camellia sinensis. Because it undergoes only minimal oxidation during the processing, much of its natural components are preserved, especially catechin polyphenols. Green tea is rich in polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, which is a powerful anti-oxidant that inhibits the growth of harmful cells in the body.

These same catechins plus caffeine found in green tea will force your body into thermogenesis, a biological process involved in burning fat for energy. They not only increase your metabolism, they are also known to be mild appetite suppressants. Moreover, components of green tea stops the movement of sugar into your fat cells.

A Japanese research shows that if you consume 5 cups of green tea a day, you can effortlessly burn 70-80 calories as a result of thermogenesis. It is said that drinking 5 cups of green tea without making changes to your eating habits, you can lose 1 pound over the course of 43 days or 8 pounds in one year.

Eight pounds in a year is definitely not much, but if you combine a healthy diet and a regular exercise regimen with green tea consumption, then you can count on not only losing extra pounds, but keeping them off!

Five cups of coffee may seem a bit overboard to some, especially to those who do not like the bitter taste of green tea and to those who are afraid of negative side effects it may bring. You can always add lemon juice or honey to add flavor to it. Know that green tea is an acquired taste and after a while, you won’t need much sweetener to enjoy it. As for the negative side effects, they do not usually come up if you limit your consumption to 5 cups a day. If you go beyond that, you may experience insomnia, headache, nervousness, and irregular heartbeat.

Just remember to not go beyond the suggested number of cups to drink in a day and you will experience the many benefits of green tea, especially weight loss.

Filed Under: diet, Fitness and Exercise Tagged With: green tea, weight loss

4 Ways To Spice Up A Boring Fitness Routine

By AbBeltGal on August 12, 2012

Nothing beats the prospect of having a fit, healthy, and sexy physique as motivation to spend hours sweating it out at your local gym. Yet, there are days when nothing and nobody — not even yourself — can force or drag you out of the house and into the gym for a boring workout.

Let’s face it, even fitness buffs have days like these. If you have been working out for a while, it’s only normal to feel sick and tired of doing the same exercise routines day after day, week after week. When you feel your motivation is slipping, skip an afternoon session at the gym and do any or a couple of these fun activities instead:

1. Jump Rope

Jumping rope is an excellent alternative to walking or running on a treadmill. Do you know that an hour of jumping rope can make you lose more than 900 calories? That’s more than the 820 calories you can burn in an hour of running on a treadmill.

This sport is not only perfect for losing weight, but improving your cardiovascular system as well. A well-functioning cardiovascular system will keep your heart and other vital organs inside the body strong and healthy.

2. Hula hoops

Hula hoops not only make you feel as carefree as a child again, they can also do wonders for your waistline. Those waist and hip movements will work out several of your body’s core muscles, particularly in the abdominal area.

If you want a full body workout, you can also twirl a hula hoop with your arms and legs to target your shoulders, thighs, and knees.

3. Dancing

Popular dance shows on TV feature serious dancers that not only have killer dancing skills, but knockout bodies as well.

Most of these people have dancing as a profession, so they rarely have time to go to the gym. Which is not required anyway, since they are getting all the full-body workout they need during practice sessions that can last hours.

Aside from being a fun and enjoyable activity, dancing strengthens your body improves your overall well-being.

4. Swimming

Swimming is one of those rare exercises that are even though low impact, allows every part of your body to work out.

It’s a great alternative to weight resistance training as swimming in water requires your arms and legs to fit through substance that twelve times denser than air.

Aside from the gym, your house or local pool is a great place for building muscle tone and strength.

These exercises are not only fun, but they also do as good a job in burning fat and toning your body as any fitness routine you perform in the gym. They’re a great way to stay motivated in achieving the fit and healthy body you have always wanted.

Filed Under: Fitness and Exercise Tagged With: exercise, lose weight

Jump Rope To Lose Weight As Well As Improve Cardiovascular Fitness And Muscle Tone

By AbBeltGal on August 5, 2012

Rare are those people who claim they haven’t enjoyed or even tried jumping ropes back when they were still kids. If you were like most kids, you’d had a blast skipping ropes with friends during afternoon recess at school.

As an adult, however, you will have a hard time finding friends your age to skip ropes with. But that doesn’t mean that you can no longer enjoy the sport. In fact, now that you’re older and staying in shape is getting more and more challenging, it’s the best time to start doing what you loved to do back when you were a healthy and active little kid.

Perfect For Those Who Want To Lose Weight

Do you know that jumping rope is an excellent calorie-burner? On average, it burns around 11 calories per minute! That’s 330 calories in just 30 minutes! If you weigh more than the average person your age, then you’ll lose more.

If you’re not impressed yet, note what Mayo Clinic reports on the number of calories a 200-lb person normally burns in one hour of jumping rope compared to when he or she is running on a treadmill. A person jumping rope can lose about 910 calories in an hour, while running on a treadmill for the same length of time will burn just around 820.

Great For Improving Cardiovascular Fitness

Aside from being a great calorie-buster, jumping rope is also good for the cardiovascular system, most especially the heart. It improves the efficiency of arteries and veins to transport blood and oxygen to and from the heart as well as the other parts of the body.

A well-functioning cardiovascular system is essential to fight off life-threatening illnesses such as heart diseases and strokes

A Fun Way To Improve Muscle Tone

If you want a no-weights approach to improving muscle tone in your body, jumping rope is the way to go. Even though the calves are usually the hardest at work when doing this activity, other parts of the body will get a pretty good workout too, including your hamstrings, quads, shoulders, and abs.

It is in your lower body, however, that you will see significant muscle tone. Your legs will experience

microtears from all that effort in defying gravity, but will soon heal after a few days. Healed muscles, as we all know, will result in a strong, lean, and toned body.

So you see, jumping rope is not only a fun activity reminiscent of your childhood, but it’s also a great exercise that can help you, along with proper diet, achieve a slimmer and healthier body.

Filed Under: Fitness and Exercise Tagged With: jump rope, weight loss

Exercises For A Firm Butt and Flat Stomach

By AbBeltGal on August 4, 2012

Fitness instructors can attest to the fact that a flat stomach and a firm butt are what most women work hard to attain. There is no doubt that these physical attributes can be commonly found in a woman who has what most people consider a sexy body.

Unfortunately, not every one is blessed with good genes that make a firm stomach and a well-shaped butt. Countless of women have to work hard to avoid getting a flabby belly and behind.

If you are one of the many who like to have flat abs and a nice, firm butt, then here are exercises you can incorporate in your daily fitness routine that target your abs and glutes.

Exercises That Target the Butt:

Squats

If you have a flat butt, then squats are perfect for you. Aside from toning and shaping your rear end, this form of exercise will also help build lean muscles in that area, thus resulting in a plump butt.

How to do squats:

1. Stand with hands on hips and your feet more than shoulder-width apart.

2. Bend your knees until they are about 90 degrees parallel to the ground, making sure to tilt your body slightly forward as you go down.

3. Contract your butt muscles as you push your heels into the floor as you come back up.

To get maximum results, you can rest a barbell across your shoulder all throughout the exercise.

Lunges

Lunges are great for strengthening all the major muscles of the hips, glutes, and thighs. If done properly, you will notice amazing results in just a short period of time.

How to do lunges:

1. Stand with your back straight, hands on hips, right foot forward, left foot back, and knees slightly bent.

2. Bring your left knee as close to the floor without touching it and keep your right knee parallel to the ground at a 90-degree angle.

3. Push the front heel of your left foot into the floor as you return to the starting position, making sure to contract your quadricep muscles as you go up.

To make this exercise more effective, you can rest a barbel on your shoulders or simply hold weights in each hand.

Exercises That Target the Stomach:

Vertical Scissors

Vertical scissors are excellent as they workout your entire abdominal area without the help of any equipment.

How To do Vertical Scissors:

1. Sit on a bench with your hands under your butt for balance and your legs straight out in front of you.

2. Contract your abdominal muscles alone to lift your right leg and lower your left leg.

3. Reverse the positions of each leg.

As a bonus, you butt and hip muscles will get quite a workout too if you remember to squeeze them as you move your legs up and down.

Vertical Leg Crunch

The vertical leg crunch is a slight variation to the popular crunch exercise known to give you fit and firm abs.

How To Do a Vertical Leg Crunch:

1. Lie flat on your back with your hands together behind your head.

2. Cross your ankles and lift both your legs into the air as you curl your head and upper back off the floor.

3. Return to the starting position.

Take two exercises (one for the stomach and one for the butt) and incorporate them in your daily workout routine. Do the remaining two on the second day. Perform three sets of 15 reps of each exercise.

Filed Under: Ab workouts, Fitness and Exercise Tagged With: butt workout, firm butt, flat stomach

3 Yoga Poses For A Flatter Stomach

By AbBeltGal on July 28, 2012

Yoga is a fitness activity that originated in ancient India but is now very popular in almost any part of the world because of the physical and mental benefits it provides.

Unlike traditional fitness programs, Yoga does not provide intense cardiovascular workout or body building exercises meant to lose a significant amount of weight or bulk up muscles. Rather, it focuses on uniting the body and mind to improve a person’s overall well-being.

Although it’s not necessarily the most efficient way to lose a significant amount of weight, Yoga can complement your daily exercise regimen to help you become as physically and mentally fit as you can be.

If you are on your way to having a smaller waistline because of cardio exercises, you may want to strengthen abdominal muscles by doing specific fun and exciting Yoga exercises, instead of neck breaking crunches.

Here are 3 Yoga poses for a flatter stomach:

1. The Bow

You start by lying face down on a mat. Curly your legs up and grab your feet a couple of inches below your toes. Keep your thighs about 5 inches apart and take a deep breath before you kick your legs up behind you, lift your torso and look up.

Stay in this position for about 10 seconds with your toes pointed up before you slowly lower down your feet and relax your hands on your side. Repeat 3-5 times.

2. The Cobra Pose

Lie on your belly with your legs aligned properly and all toes are touching the mat. Place your hands right under your shoulders with your palms down and your elbows up. Take a deep breath and lift your chest up and stretch all the way out as far as you can comfortably go.

Hold this position for 10 seconds before slowly bringing your upper body down. Repeat 3-5 times.

3. The Reclining Twist

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. With your hands extended out to your side, inhale as you lift your feet off the floor and draw your knees towards your chest. Exhale as you drop both your bended knees towards your left. You can hold your knees down with your left hand and turn your head towards your right. Keep your knees at a 90 degree angle or less from your body.

Stay in this position for about 30 seconds before your lift your knees back to center and slowly bring them down towards your right side. Hold your knees down with your right hand and turn your head towards your left. Repeat 3-5 times.

These 3 are just some of the several Yoga poses for a flatter stomach. Make Yoga a part of your daily fitness routine and you will see and feel amazing results.

Filed Under: Ab workouts, Fitness and Exercise, Health Lifestyle Tagged With: abs, flat belly, flatter stomach, weight loss, yoga

4 Easy Ways To Have a Flatter Stomach

By AbBeltGal on July 24, 2012

A bulging stomach is not just unpleasing to the eye, it poses a risk to one’s health, too. Whatever our personal reason is in losing unattractive rolls of belly fat – whether just to fit nicely into a fitted shirt or to keep the risks of life-threatening health diseases at bay – we soon realize that a flat stomach does not come easy.

It is something to work really hard for. Years of eating unhealthy food and lack of exercise have taken their toll on our body, and everyday that we postpone that much-needed change towards a better and healthier lifestyle, we only make it harder for our bodies to lose excess pounds.

Sure, there are already lots of products in the market that promise a flat stomach without the need to work your butt off at the gym. While there are products that do show great results after consistent use, most are not safe, show little to no results, and most of all, expensive.

Unless you want to experience the nasty side effects of slimming pills or can afford to undergo a liposuction, you’d want to take the traditional yet still extremely effective route to having a flatter stomach.

When it comes to losing belly fat and keep it off, nothing can beat healthy eating habits and adequate sleep, and daily exercise. Hearing the words diet and exercise may sound intimidating enough to make you want to run to the nearest drugstore or plastic surgeon.

Contrary to what many people believe, getting a flatter stomach is really not all that hard. Just make sure you follow these tips:

1. Do not starve yourself.

Many people associate dieting with starving oneself. They couldn’t be more wrong. The more they starve themselves, the lower their metabolism becomes and the slower they will lose unwanted weight.

Eating six times during the day is what fitness experts advise. This way, you up your metabolism and you prevent the surging of hunger pangs, which can cause you to overeat.

2. Eat high-protein, fiber-rich, and low-carb foods.

Studies show that foods rich in protein and fiber take longer for the stomach to process, thus making you feel full for longer periods during the day. Make sure to include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, eggs, and beans in your daily diet.

Although carbohydrates remain to be an essential part of our diet in order for our body to have enough energy to last throughout the day, consuming too much of it will result in belly fats. Therefore, you should stick to low-carb foods if you want to have a flatter stomach.

3. Get enough sleep.

The keyword here is enough. This means that you get not too little nor too much sleep each night. If your body does not get enough rest – as in less than 5 hours of sleep – it will produce hormones that can cause you to overeat when awake.

On the other hand, if you sleep more than 7 hours at night, your body will not be able to shed calories you consume due to long periods of inactivity.

See to it that you get 6-7 hours of sleep to avoid the adverse effects of oversleeping or sleep deprivation on your abdominal area.

4. Perform abdominal exercises at home.

You don’t need to have a gym membership just to be able to perform abdominal exercises. You can do them right in your own home. Crunches, Pilates exercises, and sit ups – so long as done with proper breathing techniques – can go a long way. You can even invest in an ab toning belt to maximize the benefits of these abdominal exercises.

A flatter stomach does not only make you look fit and lean. More importantly, it minimizes, if not eliminate the risk of diabetes and heart-related illnesses.

Filed Under: ab belts, diet, Fitness and Exercise, Health Lifestyle Tagged With: ab belts, abs, flat stomach

3 Exercises That Can Each Tone Your Arms, Abs, and Butt

By AbBeltGal on June 28, 2012

One problem faced by many people, especially those who have experienced dramatic weight loss, is flab. Even if you’re finally seeing a lower number on the weighing scale, you are still far from being fit and lean if hanging parts of fat or loose skin are obvious on certain parts of the body.

The arms, stomach, and lower butt area are usually the most common body parts where flab is evident. Regardless of how much weight you’ve lost, flabby arms, abs, and butt will still give you an overall appearance of being fat.

While a healthy diet and high intensity cardio exercises are essential to losing excess pounds, toned arms, abs, and butt are key to looking fit and lean.

Here are 3 exercises you can follow to tone your arms, abs, and butt area:

Exercises to Tone Your Arms

Tricep Dips

Place a bench or a chair firmly against a wall, making sure it won’t budge. Sit up straight with your hands beside your hips. With hands firmly gripping the edge of the chair, slowly move your butt a few comfortable inches away and walk a few steps forward. Move up and down in a straight motion, only using your arms to lift and lower your body.