Flat Tummy
How Body Fat Storage Patterns Affect You and Keep Your Flat Tummy Abs from Showing
Get A Flat Tummy
What’s the point of all this physiology? Well, it turns out that in men, the lower abdominal region has a higher concentration of A2 receptors, so this gives us one possible explanation of why the lower abdominal region is often the first place the fat goes when you gain it, and the last place it comes off when you’re losing it. (Incidentally, the fat in women’s hips and thighs is also higher in A2 receptors.) This situation is dictated by genetics and by the hormonal and enzymatic pathways just discussed.
Think of ab fat like the deep end of the swimming pool. No matter how much you protest, there is no way you can drain the deep end before the shallow end. However, don’t let this discourage you. Lower ab fat WILL come off, it will simply be the last place to come off. Simply put: First place on, last place off.
This helps to explain why abdominal exercises have little impact on body fat loss. It’s a huge mistake to think that hundreds or thousands of reps of ab exercises will remove lower abdominal fat, except to the degree that it burns calories and contributes to a calorie deficit. What removes the fat—all over your body—is a calorie deficit and that comes from decreasing food intake, increasing activity, or a combination of both.
What I suggested to this young man was cutting back the ab training, spending the time he was wasting on excess ab exercises for more intense, calorie-burning cardio and weight training for the rest of the body. I also suggested he do an accounting of his food intake, get his nutrition in order and decrease his calories slightly if necessary.
As it turned out, his diet was a mess, and as nutrition experts like to say, “You can’t out-train a lousy diet.” Read more
