Nicki Waterman’s Flat Stomach Plan: The Ultimate Abdominal Workouts and Diet. Nicki Waterman

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      There are, in fact, very few people who are unable to do the curl and it is one of the few exercises that most people can do safely – whatever their age. Whether you’re a teenager or an 80 year old, you’ll find the curl can flatten your stomach, improve your posture, strengthen your back and curve in your waist.

How to Use this Book

      First, read it. That may sound obvious, but that is exactly what you should do. Too often people just flick straight to the first exercise and get started without understanding what they are doing, or why they are doing it – and if you don’t understand this it’s very easy to do it wrong.

      The exercise section of the book is designed in careful stages to take you through an entire abdominal workout programme from being a novice to becoming an expert. The core of the exercise section consists of four stages of development (see chapters 2–5), each of which you should complete and be comfortable with before moving on to the next. For the experienced, I have also included some very challenging curls and a total three-in-one routine (Chapter 6: Fab Abs Challenge).

      There is an important chapter on preventing back problems, which includes back-strengthening exercises and specific cool-down techniques for the back. Additional chapters include ab training during and after pregnancy, and belly dancing – which I thoroughly endorse as a good form of aerobics combined with abdominal training. There is also a Curl-Free Workout, which is useful for challenging your ab muscles to do something a bit different.

      The diet section of the book looks at healthy eating, and provides practical suggestions for delicious meals that are low in calories and fat. As I pointed out in the introduction, you can work hard to achieve a toned tum, but if it’s hidden under a layer of fat you will not get that flat look you are aiming for. However, short-term, very restrictive diets are not the answer. In order to lose fat and keep it off, you need to adopt a healthy diet – the last two chapters show you how. The recipes are healthy and simple and provide an illustration of how easy it is for a sensible diet to become part of your everyday routine. And, of course, if healthy eating and exercise become second nature, you’ll have that flat stomach for life.

      Now before you’re tempted to just dive in and get started, let’s look at some of the practicalities of exercising those abs.

       Warming up and cooling down

      As always when working out, you should start your session by warming up and finish it by cooling down. Warming up is a kind of rehearsal for the actual exercises you will be doing. It raises your body temperature to ensure good circulation of blood and serves to lightly stretch the muscles you will be working, making them supple enough to prevent injury and minimize soreness. Cooling down eases everything back into place and relaxes you. Sections on warming up and cooling down for general ab training, as well as for back training, are included to teach you the correct techniques for each.

      The four main abdominal training plans are as follows:

      • Stage 1 is for beginners. It shows you all you will need to know and do to start a basic ab programme.

      • Stage 2 is intermediate and focuses on increasing your strength. More areas of your abdominal muscles are brought into play as different and more complex techniques are introduced.

      • Stage 3 is for the more experienced and focuses on ‘shocking’ the muscles by introducing more challenges in tempo, endurance and position, all of which encourage progress to new levels of fitness.

      • Stage 4 is as demanding as it gets. Not to be undertaken by the inexperienced or unfit, this is your ultimate goal and when you have reached it you will have a truly awesome figure.

       When you are ready

      Before you begin your first workout, familiarize yourself with Chapter 2, Stage 1: Beginner’s Curls. In this section, you will find advice and directions on how to breathe (it’s not as simple as it sounds) and how to do a basic curl. It also illustrates how to position your body for the best effect and to avoid injury. Read, absorb and understand. When you have absorbed all this on paper, you will be ready to start. But don’t proceed yet. First, comes the warm up. Before you do anything else, you should always warm up. Chapter 1 is devoted to warm-up stretches specifically designed for your abdominal workout, so this is where your routine should always begin.

      Now that you are ready to start, take it slowly – don’t try to run before you can walk. Work your way through each stage, never moving on until you are completely confident and strong enough for each new and tougher challenge. If you have moved on too fast, stop, go back to the previous stage and do it all over again. It’s quality not speed that counts in abs training. Your abdominal muscles will still get stronger and your stomach flatter, even if you always stay at Stage 1.

      This is a good place to mention that if you have reached Stage 4 and need to stop for any length of time, it is advisable not to just throw yourself back in at the deep end when you start again. I strongly recommend that you start over with Stage 1 and work your way forward as a refresher. In fact, even if you are a Stage 4 super ab demon, it’s good for your muscles to do a variety of exercises, so return to the exercises in the earlier stages now and again.

      As you read all the various sections of this book, you will note that many of the warm up and cool-down exercises are similar and are repeated in full. This is to make using this book easier, so you don’t have to keep flicking back and forth between sections.

       Questions and answers

       How often should I curl?

      For maximum benefit, you need to exercise your abs three to four days a week, but not on consecutive days. Leave at least a day between each session (so, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and so on). As I’ve already explained, your muscles need time to recover.

       How long should I work my abs?

      Not less than 10 minutes. If that is all the time you can spare, it’s still worth it. Beginners should train until they feel tired and then stop. Each exercise gives guidelines as to how many repetitions (reps) you should do, starting with about four and gradually increasing as you get stronger. Fifteen minutes overall is about right, especially if you are going to include abs training in with a workout plan that works all the muscles in your body. The main thing is never to strain or to keep on going if you are in pain.

       What is the best time to do the curl?

      Any time that you can set aside to exercise will do. However, I always suggest that early morning, as soon as you rise, is best because the rest of the day can get very crowded, especially if you lead a busy life. It’s all too easy to tell yourself, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ and often tomorrow ends up stretching into a week or a month of tomorrows and you just give up. If you really have no time, get up half an hour earlier. Exercise should be a regular part of your day.

       How long will it take to get a flat stomach?

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