Practical, effective fitness and workout tips for the gym or at home

“Clench your stomach when you walk,” is a useful and practical tip I received from my first trainer. It helped correct my posture and undeniably contributed to those elusive abs that most guys work so hard to achieve. Incidentally, the elusiveness of “getting abs” comes from eating the wrong diet. If excess fat exists, then the abdominals simply will not picture “pop,” no matter how many crunches you do in a day.

“Daily nutrition is also extremely dependent on the appearance of your midsection,” said Suyumi Quiroz, trainer and group fitness class instructor at Equinox Fitness Clubs. “Abdominal exercises can indeed strengthen and tone the muscles, but those muscles are underneath the “subcutaneous” layer of fat.”

Tyron Piteau, owner of The Maker's Body Personal Training and Resurrect Your Body Boot Camp, agrees, “for maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight pillar position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders.” His workout mantras are testament, “'suck in your gut;' 'tuck your butt under;' 'round your lower back;' 'give yourself a wedgie;' and 'be flat like a diving board.'"

The whole clenching and contracting method can be applied to almost all muscle-heavy workouts. Michael Arone of Tiger Fitness Los Angeles suggests that “the contraction is the first step in the stimulation of growth.” He advises that “at the top of each movement, contract the muscles that you are using. For example, when you perform a biceps curl, contract your biceps as hard as you can at the top of the movement, when your elbow is flexed, before lowering the weight.”