1) Combine Strength and Cardio Training

Crunches are designed to tone, shape, and strengthen your abdominal muscles, however, they don’t necessarily help getting rid of the layer of fat on top. So, to get your toned abs to actually show, you need to combine your strength training with high intensity cardio intervals. I recommend you do no less than 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 – 4 times a week. This can include jogging, cycling, or taking a kick-boxing class at your local gym.

While you will burn fat during strength and cardio training, the combination of the two will also maximize your metabolism, so that you will burn fat long after you stop exercising.

2) Crunches are Not Enough

Crunches mostly strengthen and tone the area of the abdominals that we typically refer to as a six-pack. When we only do crunches we end up neglecting the obliques, running along the sides of the six-pack. These muscles are targeted when we twist and bend as in an oblique crunch for example.

The most important layer of our abdominal muscles is the layer we never see. It’s the underlying layer that gives our torso stability and together with other core muscles let’s us walk upright. One way to address that layer is with static exercises like a plank. Strengthening this layer of muscles will give you a flatter stomach because it draws in your midsection similar to when you hold your breath.

Working all of your abdominal muscles is as good for your health as it is for your looks.

3) Speed Up Your Metabolism

As we age our metabolism naturally slows down. That’s one reason that after the age of 30, a woman typically gains half a pound per year, which is actually comprised of a 1/2 pound of loss in muscle mass and a 1 pound gain in fat. While your calorie intake has not changed – you eat just the way you always have – you end up burning fewer calories causing you to put on the pounds.

At first most of that extra weight ends up on your hips and thighs, but by the time you reach your late 30s, your hormone levels change, and most of it ends up in your mid section.

There’s just one remedy for this problem. You have to eat less and exercise more. With only 200 calories less consumed and about 250 calories burned during exercise every day, you can counteract age related decrease in your metabolism.

To learn more about increasing your metabolism read my article What Is The Best Way To Increase My Metabolism?

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