[Gina]

I have to flatten my abs and trimm my weist for the summer. What do you recommend?

[trainergirl29]

The best way to slim down is to adopt a good & fun cardio exercise routine. Keeping the heart rate up is the easiest way to burn fat, so pick a fast-paced activity that you enjoy. Aerobic exercise for a period of at least 30 min. at aprox. 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. in order to find out your max. heart rate, (men) take 220 -your age. (women) take 226 - your age. Take the resulting # and figure 60-70% of it. This is the range you will need to stay in to burn the most efficient amount of fat calories. This can be tracked using a heart rate monitor. Often times gym equipment such as treadmills or stationary bikes will hev one built into them. if not, many companies make a "wristwatch" version. Just look up "heart rate monitor" in any search engine.

Strength training along with aerobic activity will speed up the process. Unfortunately, "spot reducing" is a myth & impossible to do. Your body is physically incapable of choosing an area to loose fat from. You may have tendencies to loose inches in some areas more than others, but this is mainly because of genetics. You can choose to do more "core" exercises that focus on the abdomen & back, & by doing this, will create better muscle tone in these areas. NOTE: without aerobic activity, you will most likely not see huge improvements, even if you do 1000 situps a day! In fact, without the fat burning effects of cardio work, your core may even get bigger. You really need a combination of both to see the resluts you are looking for.