#1 trick to flatten the stomach while driving...
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
If you're already a reader of my Truth about Six Pack Abs manual, then you may already know this trick...
Now I will say that this does NOT increase fat burning, but it CAN help to flatten your stomach by strengthening your deeper transversus abdominis muscles and hence "pulling in" a lazy stomach.
It involves doing something called "ab vacuums".
I find it a good time to get in the habit of doing daily ab vacuums while driving on your daily commute or another time that would get you in the habit of doing them regularly.
(please make sure this doesn't distract you from driving safely... I find that it doesn't distract me at all...much safer than driving while on the cell phone!)
Of course, ab vacuums can be done anywhere and don't have to be just for driving, but I've found that it helps me to remember to do them if I do them at a specific time when driving regularly.
Ab vacuums are simple:
You can do ab vacuums pretty much anywhere at any time.
You can do them standing, seated (such as in a car), kneeling in a four-point position, or even lying flat on the floor.
The movement is as simple as pulling your belly button in as far as you can by imagining you're trying to touch your belly button to your spine and holding for 10-20 seconds at a time. Start by inhaling deeply. Then, as you exhale, start pulling the belly button in towards the spine and hold it there for 10-20 seconds while just taking short breaths. Repeat for several holds.
Get in the habit of doing this at least 4-5 days per week while driving somewhere and you may find that this helps to flatten your stomach more by strengthening the transversus abdominis muscle (the deep ab muscles beneath the rectus abdominis) if you previously had a "lazy belly".
Like I said, this doesn't increase fat burning... it only helps to flatten a stomach that has lazy deep ab muscles.
If you want the "six pack abs" appearance, you obviously still need to burn off the body fat.
