3 Exercises for Leaner Abs and Back

Do you feel low often when looking at yourself in the mirror and see your “muffin top” bulging over your jeans, or when feeling that sausage shape roll on your back when turning around? Most people with just a little excess weight feels exactly the same. I am here to tell you there’s a solution.

​Losing fat is simple when you have the motivation, knowledge, tools and support. Understanding that a balance between nutrition, exercise and other lifestyle habits like sleep is crucial is the first step. Today I’ll introduce you to 3 types of exercises that will help you shed the excess fat and help you feel better about yourself.

Higher Intensity Steady Cardio

​You have been exercising in a while, you even tweaked your nutrition habits and probably you have lost some weight already, but reached a plateau? It happens to most of us as our bodies adjust to the new habits. When this happens, changing one or both can give an extra push to the metabolism to burn more calories. Not all exercises are made equal, how much calories your body uses when performing certain exercises depends on the length and intensity of the activity.
The following examples are estimates for calories burnt in 30 mins if you weigh between 125 and 185 pounds:

• Stationary bike: moderate pace 210 – 311; vigorous pace 315 – 466
• Walking 4mph 135-200; Running 12min/mile 240 – 355
• Swimming 180-266; swimming laps, vigorous pace 300-444
• Rowing moderate 205 – 311; Rowing vigorous 255 – 377

Strength Training

Performing 2-3 full-body strength training sessions per week will help you build leaner muscle mass and tone your mid-section. It’s important to target all your main muscles to maximise the amount of calories burnt and develop balanced strength.

Ensure to focus on so-called compound movements, which are designed to move more than one muscle groups at a time. Because these exercises require lower and upper body muscles to perform the movement, your core area will act as a stabiliser, so all the muscles in that section will work hard. Core muscles include your deeper muscles around your hips, lower back and mid-back, your glutes and your abs.
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Recommended exercises are any variations of deadlifts, squats, lunges, bench press, press up, pull up. The good thing with these is that there is a variation for beginners as well as more advanced gym goers, so don’t be afraid!

High Intensity Circuit Training – The Fat Blaster

This type of training combines strength exercises with high intensity cardio for maximum calorie-burn and a metabolic boost. Only recommended for seasoned exercisers as you will need to be experienced in how to perform strength moves with excellent form for safety and efficiency. You also need to have a good level of cardio fitness to keep up the pace and be able to perform the strength exercises with good form at that high intensity.
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The basic structure of a circuit workout is simple. Choose 4-6 full-body exercises, add one or two core exercises. Complete repetitions or work for time performing one after the other without rest between the exercises. Once completed a full round, have a short rest and go again. Perform 3-4 rounds and if you’re still on your feet, the circuit was too easy for your fitness level.

Here is a sample circuit:

• 20 Squats
• 10 Press Ups
• 5 Burpees
• 20 Walking Lunges
• 10 Inverted Rows (TRX or Bar)
• 5 Squat Jumps

 
Perform 4 rounds. For extra boost, you can add extra cardio, for example complete 250m rowing between rounds.

​Fat loss is not hard as long as you know what you are doing. Most people report that the hardest part is staying consistent with new habits. The secret is you need to fall in love with the process, choose a nutrition plan, exercise regime and other additional habits that you enjoy, and the muffin top will disappear in no time.

If you’d like to learn more details about 3 Fat Loss Strategies of losing body fat around your waist and back, download our guide!

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