Tom Venuto: Get Rid of that Stubborn Tummy Fat

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn abdominal fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.BurnTheFat.com

How to Get Rid of Your Abdominal Fat?

After 18 years in the fitness business, “How do I get great abs?” is still BY FAR the most frequently asked question I receive out of the 30,000+ emails that come into my office every month. No doubt, it’s because abs are the one body part that most people are the most frustrated with. Although their questions are often phrased differently and each person’s situation seems unique, my answer to “how do I get great abs” is almost always the same and you’re about to hear it…

“1,000 Sit-Ups And Crunches A Day and Still No Abs!”

One question I received recently REALLY got my attention because a young guy told me he was doing 1,000 crunches and sit ups a day and said he still couldn’t see his abdominals. He wrote:

“Tom: I have been working out for around a year now and I cannot get my lower abs into any type of shape. I’m starting to see my upper abs a little bit, which is great, but despite doing 900 various crunches, ab roller, and 100 sit-ups four days a week, along with my regular workout on the weights, I still have a tire around my waist. What else can I do?”

What did I tell him? Well, I gave him the same answer I’ve given thousands of people over the years, which is

…the only true “Secret” to great abs…

It takes training to increase strength, build endurance and DEVELOP the abdominals, but to SEE the definition in your abdominals – or any other muscle group for that matter – is almost entirely the result of low body fat levels.

This may sound counter-intuitive, but if you can’t see your abs, it’s not an issue of “muscle development” at all. You simply have too much body fat covering up the ab muscles. The lower abdominal area also happens to be the one place that most people – especially men – store the body fat first.

There’s a Scientific Reason Why Your Lower Ab Flab Is The Last Place To Go:

Most people don’t have their fat distributed evenly throughout their bodies. Each of us inherits a genetically determined and hormonally-influenced pattern of fat storage just as we inherit our eye or hair color. In other words, the fat seems to “stick” to certain areas more than others.

There’s a scientific reason for this. Your fat cells are not just inert “storage tanks” for excess fuel. They are actually endocrine glands which send and receive signals from the rest of the body. You could say that your fat cells “talk to your body” and your body “talks to your fat cells.” This occurs through a hormone and receptor system.

For body fat loss to occur, you must first get the fat cell (adipocyte) to release the fat into the bloodstream. THEN, the free fatty acids must be delivered to the working muscles where they are burned for energy.

For fat to be released, the hormone adrenaline (epinephrine) must be secreted and send a signal to your fat cells. Your fat cells receive this hormonal signal via adrenaline receptors called adrenoreceptors.

Fat cells have Beta 1 (B1) and Alpha 2 (A2) receptors. B1 receptors are the good guys. They activate hormone sensitive lipase, the enzyme that breaks down the fat and allows it to be released into the bloodstream to be burned. A2 receptors are the bad guys. They block the fat-releasing enzymes in the fat cell and encourage body fat formation.

How Body Fat Storage Patterns Affect You And Keep Your Abs From Showing

What’s the point of all the physiology? Well, it turns out that in men, the lower abdominal region has a higher concentration of A2 receptors, so this gives us one possible explanation of why the lower abdominal region is often the first place the fat goes when you gain it, and the last place it comes off when you’re losing it. (Incidentally, the fat in women’s hips and thighs is also higher in A2 receptors). This situation is dictated by genetics and by the hormonal and enzymatic pathways we discussed.

Think of tummy fat like the deep end of the swimming pool. No matter how much you protest, there is no way you can drain the deep end before the shallow end. However, don’t let this discourage you. Lower ab fat WILL come off, it will simply be the last place to come off. First place on – last place off.

This helps to explain why abdominal exercises have little impact on body fat loss. It’s a huge mistake to think that hundreds or thousands of reps of ab exercises will remove lower abdominal fat, except to the degree that it burns calories and contributes to the calorie deficit. What removes the fat – all over your body – is a calorie deficit and that comes from decreasing food intake, increasing activity, or a combination of both.

So What Should We Do?

What I suggested to this young man was cutting back the ab training, spending the time he was wasting on excess ab exercises for more intense, calorie-burning cardio and weight training for the rest of the body. I also suggested he do an accounting of his food intake, get his nutrition in order and decrease his calories slightly if necessary.

As it turned out, his diet was a mess, and as nutrition experts like to say, “You can’t out-train a lousy diet.”

It’s a monumental error to think that 1,000 reps of ab work a day will make your abs finally “pop” when your diet is a disaster and that’s leading to fat storage. It’s not that ab exercises aren’t important. But all the ab exercises in the world won’t help as long as you still have body fat covering the muscles. You can’t “spot reduce” with abdominal exercise and YOU CAN’T SEE YOUR ABS THROUGH A LAYER OF BODY FAT!

If you would like to finally see your abs by burning body fat using Tom Venuto’s best-selling fat loss program, check out: www.BurnTheFat.com

Burn The Fat – Feed The Muscle is a downloadable e-book (340 pages) that will teach you how to burn fat, get leaner, and stay that way for life. It is one of the most thorough educational resources for this purpose.

– by Mark – Over a year ago I purchased Burn The Fat – Feed the Muscle. This program has had greater effect for me than any other program I’ve purchased. Fat loss is simple, but not easy and the guy offering this program is both honest and up-front about this fact and his product.

– by Bonnie – I am a 40 year old mom from South Africa. I have 3 children, aged 11, 6 and 4. My weight before was 85kg’s my body fat was 36.5%, size 40. I was fat and miserable, and my family life and my relationship were suffering. I was not able to do anything with my kids, and I was tired and constantly irritated.

I’ve always counted calories, but this just wasn’t working for me anymore. Someone my husband knows had done the Burn The Fat programme and it had changed his life, so I decided to do it too. I lost 15kg’s within 8 months and kept it off.

by Susie – Following the Burn The Fat guidelines I have lost over thirty pounds so far. I used to be a size 18 and now I’m a loose 12. I once weighed 202 pounds and now I’m only 165. Not only do I feel great on this program, but I also don’t feel deprived. My lifestyle has changed and I love the results I’m seeing at every level. Now I believe I can do more than what I previously thought I could so I’m re-evaluating my goals.

by Susie – In the one month using this product I’ve lost eight pounds, four inches from my waist and two percent of body fat. While I still have a ways to go I can’t believe how fast my stomach is shrinking. It is easy to see that I work out now. This program is the best.

Some more  Burn The Fat Customer reviews, testimonials and results achieved with the  program, found on the web

Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat – Feed The Muscle book was the first ebook that I’ve ever purchased. I was skeptical after reading the website, but all of that was erased in an instant after reading the first chapter.

I spent 4 years in University studying the human body. I wish that BFFM was part of our curriculum because so many text books out there try to be politically correct and base their work on the Canada/American food guide.

For the past 5 years I have been calling BFFM my fat loss bible. I have referred to it countless times. Yes I have read and followed a few other diet programs in the past 18 months, but I find most of them just put some sort of twist on what Tom teaches.

Other books try to make dieting sound easy and effortless. I love Tom’s no BS approach. Tell me the truth. Tell me exactly what it’s going to take. Don’t sugar coat it. And give me the tools to help me stick to the program. That’s exactly what BFFM provides you with.

Tom’s genuine and sincere character shines in this book. He truly cares about us and wants us to succeed. No gimmicks, no quick fixes… it’s the down right honest truth.

Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle is a must read!

I can now fit into a pair of jeans which I haven’t fit in for years (38 European which is size 8 U.S. – I was a size 15 U.S.). The Salvation Army must love me these days, all the big clothes are placed in their recouperation dumpsters, bag upon bag of clothes. I’ve liberated 12 clothes hangers and two shelves full of oversized clothing since New Years!