How to Really Get That Flat Stomach

Misconceptions and Myths
The first hurdle one must overcome when setting out to achieve a flat and firm mid section are the misconceptions and myths surrounding this area.

First and foremost to achieve a flat and toned stomach you must reduce the body fat covering the abdominal region. Spot reduction (reducing fat only in a particular area) is a myth. Generally speaking fat loss will occur on an all over body basis. Fat loss cannot be reduced in a particular area by just exercising the muscles in that region.

Secondly and perhaps related to the previous point, you do not perform abdominal exercises as the exclusive part of your training program to achieve results. Yes, you may be toning that muscle -which is important - but it is of little value with a large amount of body fat coving these muscles and limiting their usage. The main offender for promoting this misconception are the retailers which only focus on the trunk flexion movement - which produces muscular contraction in the rectus abdominis - and if this is done exclusively as your core training program it may produce injury due to a muscular imbalance.

Structure of the Core
An understanding of the structure of the mid section is required if you are looking to perform exercises in a suitable manner, without the risk of injury. There are four areas of focus.

The rectus abdominis is the most commonly thought of muscle in the core region, and often referred to as the six pack. This muscle is located at the front of the abdominal musculature, and performs the trunk flexion movement.

The oblique muscles play an important role in processing everyday and sporting movement. The obliques consist of the outer and inner layer of muscle performing rotation, lateral flexion and stabilisation.

Transverse abdominis is possibly the most important muscle in the mid section. Transverse abdominis produces stabilization of the mid section (an isometric muscle contraction - muscle contracts but does not lengthen or shorten) which is a vital role. If this was not in place we would be unable to sit erect, let alone produce movement.

The lower and central back is an area often forgotten in core exercise program prescription (especially in the gimmicks previously mentioned). This region consists of the lumbar spine and erector spinae muscles. If these muscles are not exercised due to too much focus on other areas there is a high chance of injury due to muscular imbalance.

The absolute bottom line is that there are no short cuts involved in achieving a lean and toned mid section. There are many gimmicks offering solutions, however they produce little to no results. Quite simply to achieve results with you training; you must do what's required.

By Gavin Stone