Demystifying Abs
A lot of people associate exercising their abs to losing fat around their belly.
I hear things like: "What exercise do I need to do to lose my belly fat" and "I'm happy with my body apart from my stomach area" all the time.
The truth is unpleasant to hear.
There is no single exercise that will reduce your stomach fat.
You can swap out "stomach" in that statement for "thighs" or "arms", and it's still true.
“When it comes to abs or your core exercises, we need to reset our mindset from “fat-busting” to “strength” and “stability”.”
A strong core truly is so important. It connects your lower and upper limbs together and pretty much every movement you do, from getting out of bed to walking, requires ab muscles.
When they are not strong, it's a problem.
Everyone knows someone with a bad back. When your core is weak, your back tries to pick up the slack. This makes you injury prone and generally pretty miserable.
A major study found that back pain as the "leading cause of disability". Back pain isn't usually linked to disease but instead is often a function of poor mobility.
Keeping your core in good shape (which includes exercise, good posture and other factors) is a great place to start to decrease your likelihood of chronic back pain, especially as you age.
More than the 6 Pack
Your abs are a lot more complicated than just the big abdominal muscles, commonly known as the "6 pack" (rectus abdominis) and altogether they make up the foundation for all movement.
A lot of your typical ab exercises tend to focus on the big ab muscles, but we can't neglect the deeper muscles. I find pilates movements very effective and incorporate them into my clients' programs.
Full-body movements (the bigger the movement, the more muscles are involved), like deadlifts, push-ups and more, are fantastic for your core too.
Losing Belly Fat
So. Here's the tea. There is no quick fix. All those ads you see that tell us you'll lose belly fat by “doing these 3 exercises” or the infamous fit teas are just plain old bullshit. We get bombarded with these false messages every day.
There is no safe way to lose belly fat quickly. End of story.
Visible abs are, in fact, not the norm, although Instagram makes it look like they are. It is extremely hard to maintain them in a healthy way and just not realistic for everyone.
Since you can't target just one area for fat loss, focus on getting leaner overall, if that's your goal.
A major part of getting leaner, apart from regular exercise, is your diet, but also sleep (a major factor that is constantly underestimated) and stress.
When you set out on your weight loss journey, a good place to start is to think about why you may be accumulating belly fat. How is your digestive health? Your diet? Are you stressed? Not sleeping? Other health issues?
Weight-loss can be difficult, but it's not impossible. It's a process. And the good news is that when you get your formula right - exercise, diet, sleep, external factors, health in general, the go-ahead from your doctor - you will probably find a whole bunch of other benefits that you weren't expecting along the way.
What I always go back to are my ROCK principles - be realistic, be organised, consistent and know your shit (i.e. don't fall for the snake oil/fit tea).
If you are consistently getting effective movement, being conscious of what you are eating, listening to your body and prioritising good sleep, you'll be well on your way.
Take Aways
One more time for those in the back!
There are no shortcuts or quick fixes.
You need a strong core to function normally, and it's more than just crunches, don't neglect the small muscles.
You can't just lose belly fat, but you can get into a routine that makes you happier, leaner and stronger overall.
