Take a minute and look at these two pictures…
If you’re a man, be honest. What do you think of her figure? If you’re being honest and you’re like most men, you’re attracted to her hourglass shape.
If you’re a woman, and you’re being honest with yourself, you’re attracted to his v-taper.
It has its basis in survivability and is hard wired into the most primitive part of our brain. Neuro-anatomists call it the “reptilian brain.”
You have other areas of your brain that can moderate your reptilian brain, but your most basic needs are still hardwired in there. If you want to be attractive to the opposite sex, this is something you should know, and something you can act on if you decide that’s what you want.
Problem is, getting and keeping those body features that are most attractive is downright tough in the modern world.
And, all the mainstream advice on how to get them misses the point. Those misguided notions have you focus on working the muscles of the midsection. But that can’t give you an hourglass figure or a masculine “V” taper.
So today I’m going to give you a simple step you can take to make yourself more attractive to the opposite sex and get those features.
First, you can’t reduce fat in a certain spot. Fat doesn’t work that way. If you seem to lose abdominal fat after a few weeks of doing those gruesome sit-ups and crunches it’s because you’ve lost fat everywhere else at the same rate.
In one study on this, they put people on a rigorous abdominal exercise training program for 27 days. Each person had to do at least 5,000 sit-ups total.
Researchers tested fat from their abdomens, buttocks and upper backs before and after. The fat decreased by similar amounts in all three places, not just in the abdominal region.1
Which sounds ok, except doing 5,000 sit-ups is not a good idea. They create a Vasalva maneuver. That’s where you bear down and try to exhale with a closed mouth and nose so that no air gets out. Like if you plug your nose and mouth when you sneeze.
The Vasalva maneuver impedes the return of blood to the heart. It’s not good for your blood pressure or circulation to your head. People have busted blood vessels in their eyes doing sit-ups.
Plus, the abdominal muscles are too small to burn a lot of fat by themselves. Concentrate on exercising the biggest muscles. Leg muscles do a tremendous amount of work while you exert yourself. This helps your body burn off fat faster than with any other muscle group.
One of the best ways to do use your legs to trim belly fat off is with the “Triple Step.” It uses alternating elbow to knee movement. This incorporates the “sit-up” movement but standing up, and with the rest of your body moving too.
- To begin, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your hands by your sides.
- Raise your arms, with elbows at a 90 degree angle, fists pointing upwards.
- Raise your left knee to your right elbow.
- As you lower your leg, take two hop steps to the left.
- Stop and raise your right knee to your left elbow – and as you lower your leg, take two hop steps to the right.
- Repeat until you are slightly out of breath.
Recover, and do two more sets with slightly increasing intensity. Focus on your intensity, so you can be in control. If you get to your peak heart rate after the second set, you’ve gone beyond your current level of conditioning.
Also, remember to breathe out as you engage your abdominals, so you don’t do a Vasalva maneuver.
For even more progressive workouts, try my PACE Express program. It will help you become more attractive and keep your hourglass figure or natural “V” taper.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1. Katch, F.I., Clarkson, P.M., Kroll, W., McBride, T., Wilcox, A. “Effects of sit-up exercise training on adipose cell size and adiposity.” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 1984. 55(3): 242-247.