Why Are Exercises To Flatten Stomach Muscles Popular AND Important?

We have all had many times in our lives when we really wanted to look our best.

At one time or another, there was a high school reunion, a wedding, or some other social function we wanted to look good for. Probably, however, the most popular time for wanting to look good is during swimsuit season. In fact, I, sell health, fitness, and weight loss products and notice a jump every year in purchases of products with which I am associated right around that time. At these times, most people's thoughts turn to their poor ol' stomach which has been neglected for so long. That's when they seem to start thinking about excuses to flatten their stomachs.

Most people want to look their best at all times. and people in today's society tend to think that a flatter stomach means better looks. However, a flat stomach does a lot more than just improve looks. There are valid medical reasons why people should concentrate on exercises to flatten the stomach. Medical evidence suggests that people who carry extra weight around the stomach tend to be more likely to develop serious medical conditions, including diabetes. In fact, research has found that abdominal fat can cause an inflammatory condition which can attack other parts of the body.

Waist size has been linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even cancer...as well as other health issues.

You have a higher risk of health problems if your waist size (circumference) is:

•more than 94cm (37 inches), if you’re a man
•more than 80cm (31.5 inches), if you’re a woman

Your risk of health problems is higher still if your waist size is:

•more than 102cm (40 inches), if you’re a man
•more than 88cm (34.5 inches), if you’re a woman

Abdominal fat has recently been linked to heart disease and there now seems to be a correlation with dementia in older people as well. Even children could have a problem as research on childhood obesity now seems to indicate that abdominal fat might actually cause loss of brain cells...even in children!

Additionally, our stomach region is also the core of our body.

What this means is that the stronger and healthier the core is, the more likely the rest of the body will be as well.

Consider a person with back problems, which is a common problem with many people. Often, people with chronic back pain benefit greatly from doing exercises to flatten their stomachs. This will help improve posture and relieve tension in the back as excess weight is removed from the front center of the body. This excess weight commonly pulls the spine out of alignment, causing or contributing to back pain.

When a person's stomach is flat and firm, it also helps the person to walk taller and straighter, giving the person more confidence and improving their overall looks compared to a person that walks hunched over. Good posture also contributes to a more effective functioning of the internal organs.

Besides good looks and good health, another reason why exercises to flatten stomach muscles are popular is because they are so easy to do!

Abdominal exercises to create a flat stomach fast can be done practically anywhere; in a gym, at home in front of the television or just about anywhere else. They also do not take any really specialized equipment to do. While there are plenty of machines and smaller pieces of equipment sold for flattening a stomach, they are not necessarily needed to get the same results. All a person needs is some room to lie down and the desire to improve their stomach. There are a wide variety of exercises that target this area of the body, so a person can choose which moves will work best for him or her.

Because this type of exercise is so popular, most workout programs, whether on a home video, at a health club or any other exercise program a person follows, will include exercises to flatten stomach muscles, because it is so important to keep them strong and also because of the popularity of this type of exercise. Most people are not as interested in simply working on legs or arms or other body parts unless they are exercising their stomach as well.

In fact, many people who start out by tightening up their stomach muscles often move on to other parts of the body or even the entire body.

As we have seen, there are many reasons why someone would want to flatten their stomach and spend a lot of time doing exercises to flatten the stomach. Whether their reason is vanity or health, it is important to remember that as with all things, it will take time to get the desired results and a person must stick to whatever program they are comfortable with until they have the stomach they want. The good news is that stomach muscles respond very well to even a little exercise, with some exercise and a good healthy diet, most people can see results, provided there is no medical reason why they won't succeed.

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, happiness, self improvement, and life. His blog on Senior Health and Fitness can be found at Fitness-After-40.ws.
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