7 SECONDS TO A FLAT STOMACH

by Paul J. O'Brien - personal trainer, founder of Meridian Acupuncture Clinic

Paul J. O'Brien is highly successful in the health & fitness industry for many reasons. He is one of Ireland's most established & successful personal trainers, he has his own acupuncture clinic, he has several websites & also has his own self-defense school.

Paul is a good friend of mine & is a big believer in short-duration, extreme high-intensity workouts. His high-intensity workouts can last as little as several minutes! His unorthodox style of training has won him many fans & an almost maxed out client base.

I explained to Paul recently that I was in the process of building a new health & fitness website, & that I wanted many articles for this website. I told him that I was working on several articles myself, but I also wanted articles from others to expand on the knowledge presented on the new website.

So, here is the article that Paul prepared for me, the deal is that in order to read the article you must be prepared to try out the training that he describes therein. Trust me, you won't regret it!

- Steve

By Paul J.O'Brien B.A., N.C.E.H.S., Dip. Acu., Cert Clin. Med. M.T.C.M.C.I., M.C.Th.A.

"Crunches. He's going to tell me to do lots of stomach crunches isn't he? Man if I hurt my neck doing another pointless crunch I swear I'm gonna…." That is what many people think when they first hear someone telling them the secret to flat toned abs. And I'm right there with you. Crunches are boring, unproductive and shockingly ineffective compared to the two techniques I'll reveal later in this article.

The truth is the most effective abs exercises are performed standing up. But no gym instructor or personal trainer will tell you that and the reason is, most don't know. Pilates and stability ball instructors are perhaps closer to the secret of the six pack than anyone else. In both, you are taught basic pelvis and abdominal tension, but they never get further than that. They never get to the good stuff.

The secret to a well toned waist, a firm trim tummy, and a strong sexy six pack – is all contained in 1 word - Isometrics.

Isometrics, defined as the contraction of a muscle without moving the joint, is the scientifically proven fastest way to build strength and muscle.

Before I explain step by step how to perform an isometric contraction for the waist I want to explain a little bit about the actual muscles you will be working. One you will be familiar with, and it's the less important of the two. The other, well it's crucial for developing a flat stomach.

So how do you keep it in tight and flat and develop the coveted washboard look? That is where my friend the transverse abdominus comes in. He connects the rectus to the lower back and effectively pulls the abs inwards, towards the spine. The problem is very few people even realise they have one, and those that do don't know how to train it.

Well here's how….

The 7 Second Stomach Flattener

1. Stand or sit tall and straight. 2. Breathe in and as you do so pull in your stomach. 3. Keep this tense and held in place. 4. Contact the abs as hard as you can, you rib cage will dip down slightly and your pelvis may rotate upwards. 5. Breathe out making an "sssss" – this will cause inter-abdominal contraction. 6. Continue this for 7 seconds. 7. Once finished keep the stomach in tight and repeat ten times. 8. Do NOT relax the stomach until completely finished all 10 reps.

The All Natural Tummy Tucker *Do this ONLY on an Empty Stomach*

1. Stand up straight with your feet wider then shoulder width. 2. Exhale all the air form your lungs. 3. As you do so bend over as though trying to touch your toes. 4. Once you are as low as you can bend and have breathed out all the air you can, pull in your stomach as much as you can. 5. Hold this tension and slowly stand up. 6. You want to keep you stomach in as tight as you can. 7. Tense your stomach keeping it in tight. 8. Hold for ten seconds. 9. Slowly relax and capture your breath. 10. Repeat 10 times.

That's it. You just need those two exercises and they can be performed virtually anywhere. You can practice in the shower, in the car, in the office, anywhere. But these are only two of my technqiues for getting a flat stomach in seconds. I cover these and much more in detail in my complete 7 Week Training Guide – 7 Seconds to A Perfect Body, The Scientifically Proven Method for Transforming Your Body in Just Seconds! (www.strong-in-7-seconds.com)

Over 250 pages and filled with more than 100 photos it will transform your body from your face down to your toes, sculpting your physique and letting you develop astonishing strength with just seconds of exercise.

Now I will mention one thing – you won't see visible results if you have a high body fat %. You will of course feel the results and quickly too. Your stomach will naturally begin to pull inwards, and become firmer. But guys you need your body fat % close to 8% and gals you need it about 12% to really see chiselled definition.

The best way to do this is enjoy a nice walk, first thing the morning before breakfast. Refreshing, invigorating and slimming, and combined with these two exercises which will improve digestion and fat burning you'll be trim and slim in no time.

About the Author.

Paul J.O'Brien is the head trainer of the top 1% ranked fitness website http://www.isometric-training.com, where you can get FREE exercises guides, e-books, training and diet advice as well as learn hundreds of new animated exercises to show you how to get the body you want in the time you have. He is also the author of over 1 hundred published fitness training articles, published in the Irish Independent, Evening Herald, Daily Star and more. He has made numerous appearances teaching his fitness routines on TV3 and Ireland AM, and is the author of over 9 fitness training books, including 7 Seconds to A Perfect Body, The Scientifically Proven Method for Transforming Your Body in Just Seconds! (www.strong-in-7-seconds.com), a complete 7 Week Training Guide with over 250 pages and filled with more than 100 photos - it will transform your body from your face down to your toes, sculpting your physique and letting you develop astonishing strength with just seconds of exercise.

- Paul J. O'Brien

You can contact Paul at the following websites:

www.strong-in-7-seconds.com

www.isometric-training.com

www.meridian-acupuncture-clinic.com

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