The abdominal muscles are very stubborn. Other parts of your body, such as your legs, will reveal your training efforts and muscle tone much more quickly, since they are much less prone to storing fat. If you're like most women, your "pooch belly", as we so affectionately call it, is one part of your body that is major struggle and it's usually the last thing to go. As cruel as the truth may be, the fact remains that as women, we are designed to store fat in the abdomen. It's not easy to achieve a perfectly flat abdomen, and in some cases, it's impossible. But you can greatly improve your abdominal area and can end up with a sexy midsection that suits your body type just fine. 

No amount of abdominal exercises will reveal well toned muscles if you're padding them with an extra layer of fat. If you're still hanging on to a some extra pounds, this is the area where a few of them can most certainly be found. First work on reducing your total body. 

1. Exercise.  A combination of strength training and aerobic training is key to reducing body fat.  Circuit Training is an effective and time efficient way to combine both elements into one workout. 
2. Eating habits are just as critical to leaning up your midsection. Replace sodium, sugar and preservative laden foods with fresh whole unprocessed foods. 
3. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
4. Keep in mind, calories do count. Eating too many calories - whether they are fats, carbohydrates or proteins, will keep you well padded in the midsection area. 
5. Limit beer and other alcoholic beverages. They have been associated with a rise in cortisol, a hormone that seems to steer fat toward the tummy.  

If you've lost the extra body fat, and still don't see well-toned abdominal muscles, increase your repetitions when performing abdominal exercises. If your abdominal muscles are not fatigued with 20 or 30 repetitions, add another 10 or 20 more. Just keep in mind, 10 or 20 well executed crunches are more beneficial then 50 sloppy ones. 

1. When you perform your abdominal exercises, focus on the exact area that is being worked. If you don't really focus on what you're doing, it's very easy to allow other muscles to do some of the work. If you allow your neck or hip flexors to help you out, your abdominal muscles won't get fatigued or toned.
2. Practice proper breathing technique when working your abs. This is done by exhaling on the exertion, which is when you lift up. This decreases internal air pressure, allowing you to fully involve the abdominal muscles.
3. Train your abdominal muscles by simply keeping them contracted when performing all your other exercises, when sitting, standing or driving. Consciously holding them in can reduce back strain and help to flatten your entire mid-section.

The Great Abdominal Debate: Myth or Reality?

If you are up to snuff on your anatomy and physiology, you know the abdomen is a single muscle called the "rectus abdominis". You may have also read advise teaching that you can target train either the upper or lower abdominal muscle.  

New research reported in the August 2003 Journal Of Strength And Conditioning states that there is no significant difference in the response to the lower or upper portion of the rectus abdominis during various abdominal exercises.  

What this means is that whether you are doing a reverse crunch, hoping to target the lower abdominal, or whether you are doing a regular crunch, hoping to target the upper abdominal, that you are in fact getting an equal effect for both the upper and lower portions of your abdomen.   

Does this mean you should not vary your abdominal routine?  No way! Keep doing a variety of abdominal exercises.  Variety is key, but out with the old theory that you can specifically target just the upper or lower half. 

Article provided by Joni Hyde, creator of www.WorkoutsForWomen.com .

*posted 10/18/07