…who sleep 7-8 hours per night. That can add approximately 35 pounds of excess weight per year. A separate study in the journal Sleep disclosed that those who slept 7-8 hours per night had less visceral fat than those who slept less than 7-8 hours. Visceral fat (excess fat surrounding organs in the abdominal area) has been associated with many chronic illnesses. For high quality sleep:
Keep your room completely dark- Turn-off your TVs, cellphones and other electronic devices that glow. The light from these devices can disrupt melatonin, which regulates sleep.
Keep your room cool- your room temperature should be 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit. This will assist in lowering your core body temperature and promote high-quality sleep.
3. Exercise
Interval Cardio Training- involves consistently changing speed during your cardio exercise (i.e. slow, fast, slow, fast, etc.). The change in speed will assist in uncovering your six-pack by reducing total body weight. Interval training can be used with most cardio exercises including running, biking and jumping rope.
Combination exercises- these involve the execution of different exercises with little to no rest between. For example, you may perform pushups followed by crunches with a 30-60 second active rest between exercises. That is one set. Combination exercises can assist in burning calories, reducing total body weight and unveiling your six-pack.
Planks- this is a great abs (and core) exercise that requires no movement. Get into a push-up position. But instead of resting on your hands, rest on your forearms and keep your abs (and glutes) contracted. Hold the position for at least 30 seconds per set.
Don’t be fooled by gimmicks that promise six-pack abs in “3 easy steps”. Infomercials that claim you can have “steel abs” in a matter of days by using Ab rollers, electric shock pads and other medieval-like contraptions. Save your money. Uncovering your six-pack abs (or reducing your abdominal/waist circumference) primarily requires a change in diet supplemented by sleep and exercise.
Visit the BlackDoctor.org Weight Loss center for more articles and tips.
Sloan Luckie, a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Public Accountant, is the author of the optimal health workbook, Body Under Construction. Body Under Construction shows how to use nutrition, exercise and sleep to build the body of your dreams, reduce your risk to chronic illness and look and feel your absolute best.
His unique philosophy on building and maintaining optimal health has garnered significant media attention. Sloan has appeared on NBC’s “The Talk” with Marion Brooks, NY1 News with Cheryl Wills, 102.3 FM Radio, graced the pages of Syd Jerome magazine, and conducted nutrition and fitness demonstrations for corporations, not-for-profit organizations, and various other groups throughout the United States.
Sloan is 49 years old and lives in Flossmoor, IL with his wife Sherree. They have three children, Chanel 23, Sloan II 12, and Sterling 9 and a granddaughter, Peyton.