You Can Aquacise Your Way To A Flatter Stomach!
By Donovan Baldwin

If you have access to an indoor pool, or, in warm weather at least, are near a body of water, there is nothing quite like going for a refreshing swim for health and fitness. To add to the normal benefits of swimming, you can use this as an opportunity to tighten those stomach muscles. The water provides a natural form of resistance, making the pool a great place to do stomach exercises to flatten out that tummy. In addition to the fact that water provides more resistance than air, aquacise, or water exercise, is low-impact, which means less strain on joints.

Give these exercises a try the next time you take a trip down to the pool or seashore. Remember, consult your doctor before beginning a new workout routine, and always warm up properly to prevent injury.

A basic set of exercises to try in the water is called the jump and dig. There are two moves in this set, one for the upper body and one for the lower body. The former is great for your obliques, and the latter works on your abdominals.

To start, stand in water that comes to a spot between your belly button and chest.

To work the lower body (including your abdominals), separate your feet a little over shoulder width apart, then jump so your knees come up to the surface of the water and back down. Picture a frog as you do it; this will help you get the form right. Next, to work the upper body, begin by making a scoop with both hands at the surface of the water. Bring your hand scoop below the surface, then scoop up and to one side. Alternate sides to work the obliques on both sides.

Start by doing the two moves separately for three minutes each. Once you have mastered the form, do them at the same time to exercise both sets of stomach muscles at once.

As you build up your strength and endurance, you can add water gloves to increase resistance. You can also do the exercises faster, packing more reps into each three minute period. Form is key, though. Do not sacrifice form for the sake of speed. It is better to do it properly than quickly.

Always remember to set fitness goals and work toward them at a gradual pace. Do not push yourself too hard, too fast. You may want to see results fast, but an injury will seriously delay your workout goals. Start small, know your limits, and build gradually.

If you are serious about working on your midsection, and want to get a flat stomach even faster, here are a few additional tips.

First, proper diet is essential to any fitness routine. A great, hard workout can be rendered a total waste of time if you have poor eating habits. In fact, making healthy diet choices is one of the keys to overall health and fitness, no matter what your goal.

Second, stay hydrated both while working out and in everyday life. A good rule of thumb is to take your body weight in pounds, divide it by 2, and drink that number of ounces of water each day. This helps to keep the body functioning at it's highest level.

Third, get your rest.

This will mean not only getting plenty of sleep, but also getting the right kind of sleep. Spend all night sleeping on your stomach, and you will wake up with a sore back, making it difficult to do your stomach exercises. Also be sure to schedule off days into your routine to give your muscles a chance to rest up and rebuild. Now you already have a great start on a toned, flat stomach!

Using these techniques together with healthy eating habits coupled with other exercises on this site will help you get a flat stomach fast.

Find more exercises for the stomach muscles at How to Lose Stubborn Belly Fat.

About the Author:
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Donovan Baldwin is a freelance writer residing in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area, and a University of West Florida alumnus. He is a past member of Mensa and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. In his career, he has held many managerial and supervisory positions. However, his main pleasures have long been writing, nature, health, and fitness. In the last few years, he has been able to combine these pleasures by writing poetry and articles on subjects such as health, fitness, weight lifting, yoga, weight loss, the environment, global warming, happiness, self improvement, and life. His blog on Senior Health and Fitness can be found at Fitness-After-40.ws.