Have you been doing countless sit-ups, crunches and side bends hoping to flatten your stomach, but you haven’t noticed a bit of difference whatsoever?  Hell, at some point you’ve probably been so determined to get rid of that stubborn ab flab that you tried every “As Seen on TV” ab gadget out there. (I admit, I tried a few myself back in the day).

Yet, even after religiously crunching it out on your new ab sculptor after every workout, you finally came to the conclusion that your mid-section looked exactly the same as it did before you bought the darn thing!

The thing is, your abs do get sore after doing isolated ab exercises and so it makes you think (or hope) that the exercises are working.  But the soreness eventually goes away, and your belly flab sticks around like that annoying neighbor that you just can’t seem to avoid. Frustrating, I know.

It may be hard to believe, but the best way to tone up your stomach is WITHOUT trying to specifically target the abdominal muscles.  I know it seems to make sense to try and “spot treat” your abs—that is, until you discover what the role of your abs really is…

Most people think that abs are made to crunch, twist, and bend.  However, it’s the complete opposite!  The role of your abdominal muscles is to prevent your mid-section from crunching, twisting, and bending. You heard it right, your abs are a stabilizing force designed to resist movement and protect your spine.

So even though you “feel the burn” when you do crunches and other traditional ab moves, you’re actually putting unnecessary pressure on your back, causing more harm than good.  These isolated exercises can cause lower back injuries by forcing your spine to flex too much.

Here Are The 3 Keys To Getting Rock-Solid Abs:

#1 - Burn Off That “Ab Flab”

Intensity is the most important factor if you want to put fat burning on auto-pilot.  Why?  Because high-intensity workouts trigger the “Afterburn” effect (like I talked about on Day 2) by spiking your metabolism for up to 2 days after your workout is over.  This scientifically proven method has you burning fat around the clock (literally)!

The real trick to maximizing fat-burning with high-intensity training is choosing the right exercises.  The most effective exercises are full-body, functional exercises (like I talked about on Day 1).  These compound exercises activate your core and enable you to recruit more muscles simultaneously, which creates a bigger metabolic demand on your body and triggers the release of your fat burning hormones—so you can finally bring that six pack out of hiding.

#2 - Strengthen Your Abs

Strengthening your abs will reinforce your core stabilizers to promote a strong, healthy back.  In the video below, I’ll demonstrate some simple, effective functional ab strengthening exercises that you can start incorporating into your workouts right away:

#3 - Cut Down On the Biggest Fat Causing Foods

I’m talking about carbs.  Now before you say, “Oh no, not another low-carb diet!”,  there’s something really important you need to understand…

Carbs break down into sugar…and sugar is THE biggest reason that you carry fat on your body.  Why?  Because sugar stimulates a fat storage hormone called insulin...

Let me explain: Insulin is a powerful hormone that’s secreted by your pancreas in presence of sugar.  So the more sugar you eat, the more insulin your body will secrete…and that means more potential for storing excess FAT.  That’s because any excess sugar your body can’t metabolize gets turned into fat!  And the worst part is that your insulin hormone loves to store fat in the belly area for men and in the hips, butt and thigh regions for women.  So any excess sugar that your body doesn’t metabolize, guess where it’s headed?!

This is why cutting way down on carbs causes nearly instant fat loss.  It’s not a matter of opinion, it’s the science of how your body metabolizes food.  Not to mention, most of the “carby” foods out there are highly processed and absolutely terrible for your overall health (you wouldn’t believe some of the health problems these foods have been linked to).

Now, I’m not saying you should eat like a rabbit all day long, but I’m not going to sugar-coat it either (pun intended!).  If you aren’t willing to make some changes to keep your carbs in check, you’re NOT going to get flat, washboard abs no matter how much you exercise because you can’t out-exercise a bad diet.

Tomorrow’s Lean Body tip is, “Why Long, Steady-State Cardio Keeps You Soft, Flabby, & Injury Prone…And What To Do About It”

Talk soon,

-- Shin