Exercise Techniques for a Flat Stomach & Chest Building

Diet and exercise are equally important for a toned, muscular look.body-builder's body image by NiDerLander from Fotolia.com

Trainer and author Tom Venuto has written that the holy grail of body transformation is to lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously. While he notes that one cannot do both optimally at the same time, gradual muscle gains can be made with gradual weight loss simultaneously. To build the chest and reveal the core, you must employ an effective strength training program while following a reasonable diet plan.

Chest

To build the pectoral muscles, basic chest exercises should be incorporated into a well-rounded workout program. Bodyweight chest exercises, such as the push-up, should be emphasized until form is perfect and the exerciser becomes strong enough to perform 20 or more push-ups in a row. Dumbbell chest exercises such as the flat and incline dumbbell press will stress each pectoral muscle equally. The classic bench press is another effective chest exercise but should be used with caution so as not to hurt the shoulders and elbows. The chest can be worked alone on one day or paired with it's antagonistic muscle group, the back, to get twice the work done in half the time. Saburchill.com notes that "Muscles usually work in pairs", such as in the bicep and tricep muscles of the arm. "When the triceps muscle is contracted the biceps muscle is relaxed. This is called antagonistic action of muscles because they are always working in opposite ways," and the same is true for the chest and back. Four to five exercises should be chosen per muscle group for one workout. The exerciser may perform three to five sets for each exercise, for anything between 6-12 repetitions for maximum muscle growth. Each muscle group can be worked once or twice a week maximum to allow for sufficient recovery.

The core is usually thought of as the abdominal area, but actually encompasses all of "the muscles around your trunk and pelvis" that help to stabilize every movement you perform, as written by Mayo Clinic.com. The core is worked not only through direct abdominal work, but also through full body, compound lifts. For example, Jason Ferruggia, author of "Muscle Gaining Secrets", stresses the squat and deadlift as important core exercises. Although these are categorized as leg exercises, they also force the exerciser to tighten her stomach to maintain good form and simultaneously work the back, glutes, hamstrings and quads. Effective exercises for direct abdominal work include the basic plank, the side plank and hanging leg raises, the deep crunch (a crunch performed on an exercise ball with an extended back stretch), and weighted pull-downs which can be performed on any machine with a weight stack and grip bar. Good core exercises will force the exerciser to tighten up and use muscles throughout his whole body.

When it comes to seeing muscle growth in any part of the body, the exerciser must use progressive overloading. It is noted on Bodybuilding.com that "Without progressive overload, your body does not need to adapt and therefore will never get bigger or stronger beyond a certain point." In a nutshell, to achieve progressive overload, the exerciser must consistently increase the work she does each time she works out. The total work load can be increased by performing more repetitions or more sets, using more weight or shorter rest periods. A person can only increase the weight he lifts to a certain point, after which an increase in weight becomes dangerous. Once an exerciser hits this point in her training, she may perform more repetitions with the same weight, more sets for each exercise or choose new exercises that force her to drop the weight temporarily.

When it comes to muscle growth, adequate calories are required. However, when it comes to visible muscle, the exerciser must be following a reasonable diet plan. This is especially true concerning the abdominal muscles. Excess fat tends to come off of the stomach last when one is losing weight. Until sufficient weight loss is achieved, fat will remain around the abdominal area. Despite the fact that the exerciser may have a strong core, she will not be able to see the definition in her muscles until the fat is lost. To develop a safe nutrition plan, a person may consult his doctor, a nutritionist, or read up on sports nutrition which will encourage him to consume adequate calories, vitamins and minerals while losing fat.