How to get a flat stomach/abs & lose weight in an apartment?
So i’ve been trying to lose weight and get a flatter stomach/abs for quite a while now.. i try to do crunches & situps, but i pretty much suck…i live in an apartment so it’s kinda small, and we have a "gym" but i get really self concious..
SOO what can i do IN (key word..IN) my apartment (with no stairs) to lose some weight (besides running around) and get a flatter stomach?
BTW, i am a vegetarian, so no meat/fish/poultry..but i tend to splurge on the carbs and sugar, to fill me up.. any diet plans/ideas? (i’ve been drinking alot of water lately too)
oh yeah, and on my tummy, i have that little curve under my belly – i dont know if its extra skin or fat or whatever, but i KNOW its get-rid-able
so how do i get rid of that?!
Okay, first, let’s tackle your diet: It’s totally cool that you’re a vegetarian, but that also means there’s some nutrients that you’re probably getting, that you can only get out of meat products. So, I suggest you get on a daily vitamin. The best thing I reccomend, is an A-Z daily supplement, because these not only have all the vitamins you need daily, but also minerals. Make sure you’re eating well balanced meals…three a day. This is the important part: Listen to your body, and STOP eating when you’re hungry. And no splurging, not good. And eating sugar…not the best idea. You see, you’re body converts a lot of everything you eat into sugar. So three well-balanced meals, eat enough to be full, and STOP when you’re full. I’ve learned a lot of times, that when people think they’re hungry…like in between meals…they’re really not. That’s just your body saying hey I’m kinda bored and that food is GOOD…go eat it. Listen to your tummy, not your mind. And water is good. Avoid things like Red Bull, and Monster…things with lots of caffeine. If you must drink something energizing, go with gatorade [it's proven to be better than powerade...less sugar, and more of what you need to stay hydrated, which boosts energy].
Now let’s tackle exercises:
For your tummy, this is fun and takes your mind off of the burn you probably feel that makes it more difficult to complete: choose a particular type of crunch, and with each card you pull up do that many [face cards which are queens and such are worth 10, and aces are worth 11], and do the whole deck…this equals a total of about 350.
Do this with each type of crunch. Crunches I recommend include:
V-Ups [lay flat on your back, pull your knees up and your torso up until you for a V], normal sit-ups.
Side crunches left and right [lay in the position of a normal sit up, but as you come up turn more to the left, or to the right].
Hip lifts which work your lower tummy [lay flat on back, hands under your bum,legs up in the air tight together or crossed, and lift your hips].
Upside-down L’s [lay on your back, bring your knees up as if you were sitting in a chair, and go up as you word in a normal sit up, while keeps your knees in that position].
Finally, leg lifts [lay flat on your back, legs down, hands under your bum again, life legs while holding them straight slowly in the air, and down to about an inch above the ground, but not touching.]
Other smart things to do, to tone the rest of your body:
Lunges down [hold hands together, lean slightly forward, keeping your spine straight, while legs are positioned with your shoulders, toes pointing forward, bend down as low as you can, while keeping spine straight, and back up]
Side lunges [stand straight, hands by your side, legs together, choose side to start with, step with that leg out to the side while dipping down into it, and back to your orginial stance]
Push ups [hold body straight, hand placement under shoulders, on your toes, down to a 90 degree angle and back all the way up]
Hover [hold body straight as in push up position, same toes as well, however, this time but your elbows where your hands were, come up, and hold position as long as you can, while keep straight]
As far as cardiovascular, since your in an apartment, lots of jumping jacks, stair steps perhaps, jogging in place, jump roping, things like that.
Do these all in sets of your choice, or with the deck of cards. Make sure to do your best, and as you make progress increase your amount. And note, it takes time, and dedication. It doesn’t happen over night, or even in a few weeks. It takes awhile. But if you stick with it, and slowly increase your amount, I promise you’ll get there. EAT HEALTHY, and drink lots of liquids. Consider that vitamin supplement.
dance. it really helps. haha. if not,buy an ab lounge. they work really well. and DO NOT DRINK SODA. i learned that the hard way. =] good luck!
workout and go on a diet
Stop with the mythical spot toning stuff. You’re in an apartment so do aerobic exercises or do your exercises in a manner that lets you work out for an hour a day without a break 6 days a week.
Push Ups, get a pull up bar, chair lifts, jumping jacks, jumping on the bed, etc.
Change your splurging to include healthy spices starting with lots of pepper and things which are basically good for you. The trick is to do aerobic activity in the minimum amount of space.
Do you remember how you could do a lot of sit ups as a kid? Think of how people stay fit in prison. It’s all about high reps. Just keep going and going without stopping and you’ll get your workout done by increasing your heartrate and burning up those calories.
Stop eating like there is no tomorrow and diet!! go to a gym, blow a few bucks on a trainer, and hit the weights!! but most of all, STOP BEING LAZY!!
Stay away from fats and sugars (Eat fruits and Veggies)… Duh, of course you know that. Use excerise tapes (ex. dancing, pilates, ect.) I use an exercise tape by Denise Austin =] (im not sure if she does tapes anymore… its so old lmao). Also drink water AND green tea! It’s great for a diet becuase it promotes weight loss and management.
Good Luck!
You can do hip ups and reverse crunches and 90 degree crunches. If you want more abs exercises: this review gave me lots of idea: http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-get-flat-abs/