Three Ways to Walk for Flatter Abs

In an ideal world, I'd be able to get to the gym 3-4 times a week.  But sometimes my schedule doesn't permit. Whether we work out regularly or never make it to the gym, there is on exercise that all of us do every day.  And that is walking.

You may not think of walking as a legit exercise but there are countless testimonials on Youtube that paint a different story.  There are entire weight loss journeys based on the simple premise of getting fit one step at a time.  Today, come to you with additional strategies that transform every day walking into a tummy trimming workout.
Minding Your Posture
Yesterday, I learned of this technique called "abs walking."  To put it simply, abs walking is a method by which we maintain a posture that engages our abdominal muscles while we walk. If you pay attention to your posture, you probably realize that our default stance is slightly slumped forward.  This is probably influenced by hours of sitting in front of the computer. Our shoulders and back are rounded as our entire upper body leans forward. Notice how your belly protrudes when you're in the slumped over position.  Pay attention to what happens to your midsection when you sit straight up and elongate the spine.

With "abs walking" you carry that proper posture with you as you walk.  You back is straight and your shoulders are slightly pulled back.  Here's the kicker, you also lift the head and neck up (no looking down) and pull it slightly back.  Proper posture for abs walking feels slightly awkward because this isn't a natural resting position.  But what it does is slightly activate the abs.  When you're rounded out, the abdominal muscles are caved in. This stance awakens your deep stomach muscles.

Flat Abs Without Crunches
I like to take this abs walking concept to the next level by adding static movement.  By pulling by core inwards, I'm engaging in my transverse muscles as I walk.  As you might recall, transverse muscles lay deep within our inner core muscles. They are activated by an inward pulling motion versus how crunches trigger our outer abs.  When I think of the times when I had a flat tummy, crunches were never involved.  One strategy I took was to pull my tummy in tightly as I walked on the treadmill.  Worked like a dream.

Raise the Intensity
Lastly, I urge all of you flat tummy seekers to step up your ability to burn tummy fat by incorporating interval walking to your routine.  Interval walking is that thing where you alter your walking speed for short bursts.  When you pick up the pace of your steps, for short periods of time, you're engaging in High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).  I'm not a fan of running sprints as a method of high-intensity training.  Luckily for me, I can do a modified version during my walks.  HIIT workouts are amazing because they truly have the ability to target stubborn fat cells that don't respond as well to other forms of exercise.

These three abs toning techniques are great because you can incorporate them all throughout the day.  For example, if I'm going grocery shopping, I walk as quickly as I can from the car to the cart to incorporate a short burst of intense activity.  Interval walking is super easy to do at work, home or pretty much anywhere.  Since learning of "abs walking," I've been paying close attention to my posture as I walk.  This means that I'm activating my core a little more during the day.

 All of that extra activity is guaranteed to pay off.