Beer belly is a huge problem for many men, even so some of them simply gave up getting rid of it after numerous unsuccessful weight loss attempts. There’s also a widely-spread belief that beer belly is being identified as special status, life experience or financial situation, however, these are just excuses.
Abdominal swelling brings not only loss of esthetics, but also results in a multiplicity of negative consequences for health, thus one has to take men’s beer belly not as an example of masculinity, but as a truly serious issue.
Looking at a standard of masculinity that was embodied in statue of Hercules and who was a quintessence of men’s beauty and shape, it is unlikely to find any excess weight.
It is Farnese Hercules who reflects the historical notion of masculine and provides an idea of how a man should look. Apparently, there is not beer belly observed on a mythical hero’s body.
Never-the-less, even if you’ve been through many attempts to get rid of a beer belly, it doesn’t matter you are doomed to failure.
In fact, a guaranteed method that can help is an all-inclusive one which implies:
- Nutrition control
- Physical exercises
- Lifestyle changing and saying “no” to bag habits
Even though it would be hard to achieve some desired results by applying this or that method separately, taken all in one guarantee that you will achieve your goals by all means.
Dangers of having a beer belly
If abdominal swelling was exclusively visual issue, then doctors would not panic.
Nowadays the number of people with this problem is constantly increasing and it’s seen everywhere: in a public transport, in a street or even among friends or sometimes even on one’s own body.
WHY IS IT DANGEROUS TO HAVE A BEER BELLY?
- Disorders of internal organs.
- Increased estrogen level and decreased testosterone level.
- Serious problems with back (curvature, hernia, protrusions).
- Risk factors: umbilical and inguinal hernia.
- Nevertheless, in addition to other risks, the most dangerous one is a step-by-step testosterone level decline which brings health problems in general.
Therefore, even if esthetics does not matter that much for you, it is important to know how to get rid of beer belly to stay healthy.
What’s beer belly? Know your enemy.
According to the famous Eastern wisdom, when it comes to success in defeating your enemy, it depends on how well you know it. Thus, it is critically important to understand what is beer belly and how comes it appears on one’s body.
IN BRIEF, A BEER BELLY IS:
Male obesity (implies fat is mostly located around the waistline);
Constant abdominal wall stretching (which comes as a result of physical acidity absence);
Thus, to get rid of beer belly, it is required to pay attention to the abovementioned issues. When it comes to sure-ways to fight much excess fat, diet and nutrition control are probably the best ones. As for abdominal stretchered wall, it could be back to normal only by means of physical exercises.
SPEAKING ABOUT REASONS BY WHICH BEER BELLY COULD BE CAUSED, THEY ARE TOTALLY CLEAR:
- High-calorie food or fast food;
- Beer (even through a beer belly is actually called so, drinking beer is not always the primary reason);
- Lack of physical activity or inactive lifestyle.
Nutrition: back to normal
Have you been trying to get rid of beer belly rocking your ABS? Well, it is a principal mistake.
Even if you do ABS exercises day and night, a beer belly won’t disappear in 99%; it will only tonus your abdominal wall which will finally sag because of the total mass excessive weight.
The first thing you must pay attention to – is your nutrition plan. It is critically important to make a calorie deficit — thus your body will take energy not from the food you actually eat, but from so-called fat deposits.
It is also important to mention, there is no need to diet since getting rid of men’s beer belly will take pretty much time.
Any nutrition plans which offer to erase it in a month or so don’t worth a penny; they are only aimed to get your money, but not solving your problem.
THUS, THINGS YOU HAVE TO START WITH:
- No-sugar and no-flour (including bread or any pastry);
- Say “no” to any fatty meat (pork, lamb, duck, fatty beef);
- Forget about fried foods — it is better to steam, bake or simply boil and so on;
- Make sure you get much protein which guaranties weight loss (you can find it in low-fat cottage cheese, boiled chicken breast / lean beef, fish);
- Say “no” to fast food and avoid restaurant food.
BESIDES THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO DO THE FOLLOWING:
- To eat vegetables every day: seasonal vegetables (try to exclude beans or any which have starch), green salads;
- To eat fish 2-3 times a week or at least once. It is better to get sea fish, although freshwater fish will also suit;
- Frequent eating, small portions (5-6 times a day with 2-hour intervals). It will boost your metabolism;
- Drink enough water (tea, soup, coffee do not count); for every 30 kg of your own weight you need to drink 1 liter of water;
- Don’t eat at least 2 hours before bedtime, the last meal should be a light snack: lettuce or low-calorie vegetables, low-fat cottage cheese will also suit.
Cardio is your friend
Let’s imagine you have already come back to normal nutrition and your body has started to get less calories, which obliges it to spend its own fat reserves. It is time to add physical exercises which will burn as many calories as possible — cardio will perfectly suit here.
The huge advantage of cardio is that you don’t have to stuck in a gym day and night. By the way, if you were trying to get rid of belly fat by means of working out in a gym (standard program of 5-7 exercises), it is quite a blunder.
Be active:
- Jogging (street or treadmill). It is important to jog carefully if you have much excess weight since it could put a strain on your knees. Start step-by-step, constantly increasing duration of your cardio workout. It is also better to work out alternating jogging and walking at first; it will significantly prolong your cardio workout without any bad consequences or harm.
- Elliptical trainer perfectly suits if you want to lose calories and to give a tone to all muscles.
- Jumping rope workout — although it is pretty hard to jump for people who have beer belly, if you can jump at least 40-60 seconds without a break, don’t miss a chance to do a quick jumping rope work out and try to increase its duration. If you jump a rope more intensively, it will burn you even more calories.
- Working out in a gym — it goes without saying we cannot neglect it since they could help to burn many calories. Never-the-less, it is important to choose the proper pace, weight, number of sets, reps and so on.
- Getting enough sleep — it provides a full recovery to your body. If you are in a lack of sleep, your body recovery simply won’t be completed as needed and you’ll begin to accumulate training fatigue which will result in significantly reduced or slowed down weight loss process.
WHAT ABOUT ABS WORKOUT?
ABS workout is not a priority for people who want to get rid of a beer belly. Moreover, it could be dangerous since if you have a week ABS muscles, you can cause squeezing of internal organs, intestines and result with serious health problems.
Therefore, no twists: start with hanging leg raise (with bend legs up); then you can add one set of any other ABS exercise.
How to Create an Effective Training Program
Don’t be blind believing fitness instructors’ each and every word: many of them get bonuses so the more you visit the gym, the better for their salary. That is why encouraging to get the best results isn’t of their highest interest.
That is why you have to understand your own priorities when it comes to physical exercises and personal training program.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN, MAKE SURE YOU ARE CLEAR WITH THESE RULES:
- High-amplitude, high-energy exercises is a must (no isolation, no ABS, no biceps exercises), long-lasting and intense
- Rest between sets and reps must be super short (20-30 seconds but if you cannot boast of high endurance, up to 60 seconds is also ok)
- Do not try to work out with the heaviest weights — it is better to do more sets with smaller weight than to do a few ones with a big weight if your aim is weight loss
- Each workout should start with 10-minute cardio and end with 20-30-minute cardio (you can choose any type of cardio: from cycling to treadmill, from alternate steps on a plyo box or on pile of weight plates)
- Sets and reps: 3-4 sets and 10-15 reps, depends on complexity (squats, barbell gym and similar — 10-12 reps, leg swings and other — 12-15 reps).
- It’s also recommended to combine exercises into so-called “supersets”, do round-workouts to raise both intensively and number of calories burned.
IMPORTANT!
If you’re thinking “How come these exercises will help me to get rid of a beer belly?”, be patient and keep in mind to reach your goals you have to train your body. The majority of basic exercises provide high load for your core, thus simple ABS workout will be just “killing” that part of your body you want to focus on.
Even when you’re doing lying barbell gym, your core muscles are involved and bring stabilization to the whole body. Squats (and especially front ones) also give high load for all core muscles and help not less than twists. In addition, for those who have beer belly, twists may cause discomfort or health problems — squads are suitable for everybody, even for women during the last months of pregnancy.
Beer belly equals excessive weight, so you mustn’t lose concentration on a weight loss process. To burn calories, you have to make sure you expend them (at the same time cut them by means of nutrition plan). Thus, your body will start to get energy from its fat, including excessive fat on the waistline which will result in slimmer waist.
ABS WORKOUTS WON’T BE EFFECTIVE BECAUSE OF THE SEVERAL REASONS:
- It cannot provide the necessary energy consumption and calorie burn.
- Hardly anyone could work out on ABS 15 minutes without a break, ABS muscles are poorly adapted for such high load.
- Health risks (internal organs squeezed and high blood pressure during twists; if you have just started to lose weight, it is not recommended).
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THESE EXERCISES INCLUDED IN YOUR TRAINING PLAN:
1. Deep Barbell Back Squat
Deep Barbell Back Squat: video
2. Barbell or Dumbbells Bench Press
Barbell or Dumbbells Bench Press: video
3. Dumbbell Fly on a Bench (Sitting/Lying)
4. Bent-over Barbell Row
Bent-over Barbell Row: video
5. Hanging leg raise, core rotation, oblique side to side, later you can add twists and other exercises
6. Lat Pulldowns
Lat Pulldowns: video
7. Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
Dumbbell Bent-Over Row: video
8. Hyperextension
Make sure you do this exercise very carefully, avoiding any sharp moves and with your torso fixed well. It will help to strengthen your back avoiding any pain.
Hyperextension: video
9. EXTRA
All the rest of it, oblique with dumbbells, plyometric exercises (jumping on plyo box, jumping jacks) will perfectly suit.
Exercise — jumping jacks: video
IMPORTANT!
Select the exercises which won’t take all your strength before the workout ends, so you will be able to end with a 20-30 minute cardio. If cardio is less than 20 minutes, it is ineffective for weight loss, thus the longer your cardio is, the better and quicker results you will see.
Little tricks
It is no secret many men who want to get rid of beer belly hardly can say “no” to fast food or any high-calorie food. Thus, try to trick your body.
PRIMARY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WILL SURELY HELP:
- Replace fast-food and sweets (sweets for honey or dried fruits, fatty pork for baked lean beef, etc.)
- Eat many boiled egg whites (4-7 a day). They’ll make you forget about your hunger and provide enough protein. In addition, you can take whey, but only whey protein isolate (since extra calories even from whey concentrate in this case is no of use)
- If you are starving, eat green salad with 1 spoon of olive oil.
- It is better to take all high-calorie food in the first part of the day
- It’s important to have both detox and cheat day once a week. The latter means you can eat so-called “prohibited” food which you don’t eat daily. It goes without saying, you don’t have to go nuts, since it could erase your previous results. However, such cheat day will help you to control hunger, reduce stress and go as a
Although during the very first days a beer belly will be slowly disappearing since your body needs time to normalize your metabolism, once you notice the initial results, the next will be a “snowball” effect and you’ll not be able to stop it.
Step-by-step you will get rid of a beer belly — you can easily track your progress by means of body measuring tape.
