3 simple steps to a flat stomach

When you finally decide to fight your over-40 belly fat, you can’t start with crunches, sit-ups, or core work..

When you finally decide to fight your over-40 belly fat, you can’t start with crunches, sit-ups, or core work..

When you finally decide to fight your over-40 belly fat, you can’t start with crunches, sit-ups, or core work..

It seems contradictory to “ignore your core” but the fact is this: Crunches are simply a waste of time when it comes to shedding stubborn fat around your midsection or defining your abs. That’s because…

You Already Have a Six Pack, You Just Can’t See It!

Everyone has a 6-pack hiding under belly fat and flab.

Getting the fat off just reveals it.

Crunches don’t specifically target belly fat—adaptations in your body, the way you burn calories, and how your metabolism functions are where everything starts.

So, instead of crunches, you need to focus on total fat loss first. Follow along and discover 3 steps you can try to tone up your core without performing a single crunch.

Step 1: Burn More Calories at Rest

Total Energy Expenditure is your greatest ally against belly fat. You have get your body to use more energy (burn more calories) at rest. The only problem is: As you get older, the total amount of energy (that’s calories your body burns) when you’re resting decreases.

While lifestyle factors do play a role (stress, sitting around, moving less), the number of calories you burn at rest as you age is determined genetically (thank your parents).

There are ways to “trick” your metabolism. The right combination of exercises in short succession (I’ll show you these at the end of this article) can trigger an “after burn” effect that lasts for hours, allowing you to burn more calories while you sit on the couch.

Step 2: Maximize Overall Muscular Strength

Did you know that for every pound of muscle you add to your body, your body uses up to 50 more calories a day while at rest? Replace the fat taking up space on your arms, under your chin, and on your belly with lean, well-defined leg muscles, core, back, and arm strength and you can burn extra fat just sitting around.

Crunch the numbers quickly:

Add just 2 pounds of muscle to your body and you’ll burn an additional 700 calories a week just sitting around. That’s nearly 12 pounds of fat per year lost by only changing your body composition.

The best part? It only takes 20 minutes a day, just a few minutes per week to add that muscle (and melt away more stubborn fat at the same time!).

Step 3: Exercise Efficiently

As you get older, how efficiently you work out begins to matter more than ever.

First, you’re working with additional lifestyle factors you have to manage—between kids, a career, and things you want to do, there’s just no time to deal with inefficient workouts.

Second, you’re fighting stress, cortisol, and your own natural metabolic slow down—all things you don’t have to deal with when you’re young.

Third, even if you have all the time in the world, who wants to spend 90 minutes a day on a treadmill?

Fortunately, researchers have efficient exercise down to a science.

With just 20 minutes of effort per day, without ever leaving your house, you can burn as many calories as 60 or 70 minutes of long cardio while building the total-body functional strength you need for a metabolic boost.