Woman with a trimmed waistline
Whether you want to have a better figure or lose some belly fat it helps to know trim a waistline the right way. You can achieve a smaller waistline with some dedication and effort. Trim you waistline by strengthening your core (back and stomach) muscles, improving your diet and burning unwanted fat with cardio exercise.
Instructions
1. Eat four to five small meals per day. Start with a healthy breakfast and end with a protein drink one to three hours before bedtime. Incorporate lean protein (chicken and turkey) and vegetables into each meal. Eat plenty of grapefruit each day and allow yourself to have other fruits sparingly throughout the week.
2. Ditch the spices, sauces, pasta and bread. Use olive oil instead fatty dressings for topping meats and salads to reduce calorie and fat intake. Do not eat any pasta or bread for the first month.
3. Train your abdominal (stomach) muscles every other day. According to shapefit.com, try to complete 50 to 100 repetitions of each exercise for 20 minutes followed by a 5 minute break. Take small breaks in between exercises as needed. Perform the following exercises:
Crunches: Lay on your back, bend your knees and place your hands behind your head. Use your abdominal muscles to raise your shoulders off the floor as far as possible and lower back down.
Reverse crunches: Lay on your back with your legs straight out in front of your body. Slightly bend your knees, lift your feet off the floor and pull your knees toward your chest. Lower your legs until they are an inch from the floor and repeat.
Oblique crunches: Start in the crunch position and use your stomach muscles to raise your right shoulder towards your left knee. Lower your body and repeat on the opposite side.
4. Tone your lower back along with your abdominal muscles to tighten up your entire core and trim your waistline. Aim for 20 to 50 repetitions of lower back exercises. Include these exercises to your strength training days:
Lying back presses: Lay on your stomach with your arms straight overhead. Simultaneously raise your arms and legs off the ground as high as possible. Hold for 1 to 3 seconds, relax and repeat.
Good mornings: Use a barbell or dumbbells of a weight that you can manage comfortably for this exercise. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, hands in front of your thighs and your back straight. Bend at the waist and allow the weights to drop towards the ground. Keep a slight bend in your knees and your back straight to avoid injury. Straighten your body to return to the first position and repeat.
5. Participate in cardio exercise five days a week for 30 to 45 minutes. According to shapefit.com, the best cardio activities are step aerobics, cycling, swimming, racquetball, rock-climbing, cross-country skiing, running, the elliptical trainer, rowing and walking. You can also mix your cardio with intervals of sprinting, jumping rope and spinning.
