Trying to tackle the areas which fat clings to is always tricky. Today Carly Yue explains her top tips for how to blast it once and for all… understanding_stomach_fat If you wanted to drain a swimming pool, you'd have to wait for the shallow end to empty before the deep end will drain – and no matter how much you protest, this is a simple fact. This analogy, believe it or not, also applies to belly fat. There are two main types of fat that are very different, and generally form two separate groups:
  1. Shoulders, chest, face and legs
  1. Stomach, hips, lower back and thighs
Generally, the easier type of fat to lose is type one, shoulders, chest, face and legs – and this applies to women in particular. However there are factors that can affect our ability to burn belly fat, including our age, hormones, insulin levels and the type of exercise we choose to do. Whilst any exercise is a good idea, unless you have a game plan it is not going to be enough for specific aesthetic purposes. Now I'll never discourage people from going to the gym and doing something to be healthy and lose weight, but if you want to train efficiently, you really do need to understand what works for you and your body… HIIT High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) comprises short spurts of cardio and light resistance training for roughly around twenty minutes, allowing you to alternate periods of all out exertion with low intensity exercise. HIIT is far better for fat burning and muscle preservation in comparison to longer bouts of cardio. Why? Becuase whilst solid cardio is good for burning calories, it also breaks down muscle in the process - and we all know that we need muscle to speed up our metabolism! Therefore, cardio and strength training need to be balanced. Heavy Weights When it comes to fat burning, training with weights is a must. It raises the number of calories that your body can burn each day, as well as for several days after you have worked out, alongside gradually building more and more muscle. Pre Workout Pre workout supplements help you lose fat by increasing your body's daily calorie expenditure. It can also assist strength, endurance and anaerobic performance - making your workouts more effective and challenging than ever! Nutrition Put simply, you cannot have a great stomach without great nutrition. A calorie is not a calorie. They are used differently by the body (this is why I disagree with claims made by the diet industry) and fat (good fat) actually aids fat loss. The word itself makes you think of fat negatively, but trust me when I say you need some in your diet! Ab Muscle Training Abs are a muscle like any other and are actually used during training for other body parts, particularly squats or deadlifts, as they help to stabilise your body. If you get into the habit of using them you'll strengthen them without the need for endless sit ups. Abs also need to be worked in a variety of ways, as do any other muscles, so for example sometimes using weights, sometimes from the sides and sometimes we need to specifically target the lower or upper belly, etc. People tend to train abs differently and think that doing endless sit ups every day will be useful. Believe it or not, doing around 8-12 reps with rest periods in between is actually more effective. My biggest advice would be to be patient, follow my advice, eat well and be consistent. Also, learn to love your body and appreciate different parts that have improved. I have abs pretty much all year round, though obviously sometimes they’re more noticeable than other times, because of a number of factors. My genetics, my training (I lift heavy and am strong), my diet, my posture and the fact that I drink alcohol only very rarely (less than 10 glasses a year) all factor in. It took me patience to condition my body, but you can do it too – and be sure to enjoy the process! [caption id="attachment_641" align="aligncenter" width="150"]Carly Tierney Personal Trainer Guest post by PT & Media Fitness Expert Carly Yue.[/caption]