Workout Myths: Are Sit Ups Actually Good For You?

When most people start at looking to lose weight they think that lots of sit ups will be the way forwards, what couldn’t be easier than doing some abdominal crunches in front of the television each night and watch the fat actually melt away? Sadly this is a well known exercise myth that will leave you with firmer muscles and eventually some good muscle tone, but it won’t actually get rid of that layer of fat.

The fat on your abdomen will be due to excess intake of calories, so the only way to bust that gut is to reduce your calorie intake, and do it the old fashion way and do some cardio. Find a sport that you enjoy, try something like running, cycling or swimming, something that is high intensity.

Now doing some crunches with some cardio exercise will help you start to see results, but there’s a little trick to help give the appearance of a flatter stomach. Underneath the rectus abdominus is a band of muscle called the transversus abdominis, sometimes known as the ‘corset muscle’. This muscle will help keep your back strong. If you exercise this muscle on a regular basis is can help you achieve a flatter looking stomach, click here to find extra crunch exercises.

To work this muscle band, pulled in your stomach so that your belly button is being drawn to your spine, and then whilst keeping your stomach pulled in, breath normally. You should start to feel this working properly when you get a minor burning sensation in your stomach. The key is in the breathing so don’t give up if you don’t feel the effect right away. This neat little exercise will also help improve your posture. You don’t need any specialist equipment to do this exercise, do it when it’s quiet or when you’re standing in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil.

Now there are a variety of sit up exercises that are good for you, so long as you combine it with a regular cardio activity. You can further intensify doing crunches by lifting your feet and legs in the air and curling your hips towards your head as you do a crunch. You can similarly target different muscle groups by doing side crunches, these will help to target the muscles on the side of your waist and give you a more streamline figure.

Your diet will also impact on your stomach, aim to eat regular meals with plenty of fruit and veg, extra fibre will help you to digest your food better and reduce any gas which can help your stomach look flatter. Drink plenty of water to help flush out the buildup of lactic acid, drinking a glass of water before each meal can also help you shave off a few calories from your meal.

To really turn the heat up on burning the belly fat on your body you could do a weights AND cardio programme, that will set the stage for getting rid of that tricky belly fat and also give you good core muscles. Working in crunches will then help you stay trim and on top of that fantastic figure. Who said looking that getting a flatter stomach with sit ups was a myth?