Castle Personal Training
Castle Personal Training is a Corstorphine, Edinburgh based company who specialise in weightloss/toning and Pre and Post Natal exercise.
Just for Men; how to get rid of that beer belly
Hi guys,
I know sometimes it seems like I only blog about pregnancy related things and to a large extend this is true. It is one of the two things I specialise in.
However, and this might come as a shock to you, there is a big crossover between training ladies post-natal and guys in their middle-age trying to get rid of that little belly that’s now on show.
The way I get ladies a flatter stomach is very similar to the way gents can get rid of their beer-belly. This is because the problem is fundamentally the same; a weak core. And I hate to say it but you will not get rid of your beer belly by doing crunches and all that sort of thing. Even men can suffer from Diastasis Recti and it’s nothing that can’t be fixed.
If you’re a bloke who looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Junior then keep reading;
If your friends want to touch it, you have a problem
The fundamental problem when you have a bit of a belly showing is likely to be your posture. Unless you have spent ages in the gym working on everything else and your core is ridiculously weak compared to the rest of your body your posture is likely to not be great. Under-developed glutes, a weak upperback and rear delts from sitting at a desk all day will lead to poor posture and a weak core.
Note I said a weak core, not weak abs. I see a lot of guys in gyms doing ab work such as crunches and they don’t seem to notice that it really doesn’t do them any good. I know Men’s Health, other supplement peddling magazines are available, really like the “Do a hundred crunches a day for a flat stomach” article but these guys are not actually in the business of getting you results.
The muscles you should work to flatten everything up are not actually your abs; doing crunches and sit ups does you no good whatsoever. In fact it actually hurts your cause.
Beats a crunch any day.
What you should be doing are things like;
Reverse lunges, Bulgarian split squats, Step ups, Rear delt rows, Bent over rows, Rope facepulls, cablemachine woodchoppers etc.
Things you should not do too much of; Benchpresses, chest flyes, crunches, front delt exercises, quad dominant exercises and all that stuff.
Obviously exactly what you should do, how often and for how many reps, depends on where you are on your fitness journey but if you stick to the above you won’t go far wrong.
If you find that that round stomach is bothering you a bit and making your suits and shirts fit that little bit worse then that’s where to start.
It doesn’t have to look like this.
And, obviously give me a shout if you need anything.
Take care,
Peter
Castle Personal Training 