When his wife didn’t want to sign up for a cheesy pregnancy photo shoot, Austin dad-to-be, Justin Sylvester, decided to bare his belly in her place. And behold, the most hilarious and viral ‘man’-ternity photo you’ve ever laid eyes on:
While we absolutely loved his sense of humour, many men would rather not carry a beer belly that might rival his expectant wife’s.
If only the path to a chiselled core was paved with crunches, every guy with a gym membership would sport a model six-pack. Here are 3 pieces of hardcore science to up your routine for more efficient fat blasting, abs sculpting and muscle buffing:
BEACH BODY BLASTER
The secret to melt flab faster: Exercise on sand.
In a recent study, athletes who did so for two 1-hour sessions per week reaped bigger fitness benefits but felt like they worked less hard compared to those who did the same routine on grass. This is because you can get your heart pumping faster and torch more calories on soft sand than you would on solid ground. You’ll also have less muscle damage and soreness post-workout.
While running and beach volleyball with the babes are obvious choices for a surf-side workout, you’ll get even greater fat-burning rewards from circuit training on sand. Total body moves in circuit training engage more muscle groups which will lead to greater improvement in strength, stability and power.
Don’t rush in too quickly though. Start with just 1 to 2 super slimming sand circuit sessions a week to condition your body, and losing up to 3 inches in 4 weeks round your middle will pinchable (or rather, less pinchable) reality - not just building sandcastles in the air.
Read More: Kickstart Your Metabolism
MEAN MUSCLE BUILDER
In case you are planning to grab protein supplements to feed your muscles and shed pounds – hang on, buddy. A new study suggests that for bigger and better muscles, chowing down on more protein bars and shakes isn’t the answer. What you need to do instead is to stick to the same amount and just distribute it into more equal portions throughout your day. Researchers found that those who equally distributed their protein intake gained an astounding 25 percent more muscle in comparison to those who had an uneven intake.
Proteins do most of the work in cells necessary for structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. It is also necessary for muscle repair and growth. When an individual consumes larger amounts of protein the body will begin building new muscle. However, when you consume way more proteins than your body requires, the excess will be converted to fats and sugar instead of increasing your lean muscle mass.
The average American adult takes in 90g of protein each day (higher than the daily recommended amount of a meagre 60g), and most of it at dinner and least for breakfast. So some smart swaps to add more high quality protein into your morning meals while reducing refined carbs: An egg, a glass of milk, yogurt, or even a handful or nuts has nearly 30g of protein. And limit yourself to approximately 3 ounces of meat, 7 ounces of fish fillet or 6 ounces of fried tofu at lunch and dinner.
Read More: 10 Foods That Burn Fat
THE COOLEST WAY TO SCULPT
Now you can sit back, relax and wave bye to those jiggly fat that seem immune to diet and exercise. Zeltiq CoolSculpting is a FDA-approved fat reduction treatment to reshape your body without surgery, needles, anaesthesia or recovery time. This celebrated rockstar of the fat-loss world safely delivers precisely controlled cooling to gently and effectively target the fat cells underneath the skin. The treated fat cells are crystallised and undergo natural cell death. The dead cells and free fat are then safely eliminated by natural body processes over the next couple of months. This process of cryolipolysis does not raise the blood lipid level or affect the the liver function, making it a good choice even for those with underlying cholesterol and liver issues.
“CoolSculpting is still our most requested non-surgical fat loss treatment, even though we offer a whole variety of options ranging from surgical liposuction to other premium non-surgical technologies. It is a very well-tolerated, fuss-free lunchtime procedure for patients, with appreciable results even with the first session. Most importantly, it is a very safe treatment with relatively predictable results, and it delivers an even reduction in fat as compared to other treatments or imitators,” explains Dr Toby Hui, from The Sloane Clinic.
And how exactly does fat loss differ from weight loss? When we lose weight, our fat cells become smaller, but the number of fat cells remains the same. When we gain weight, those fat cells become larger again. However, the CoolSculpting procedure actually reduces the number of fat cells in the treated areas – for good! Obviously, fat cells that are no longer there can’t get bigger.
CoolSculpting now boasts a range of different applicators specially designed to target specific areas of the body and different body shapes:
- CoolCurve+ would take care of most muffin tops, the most commonly requested treatment area in both men and women. But did you know that more physicians are giving man boobs or “moobs” (or pseudogynaecomastia in medical terms) the freeze off with Coolsculpting as well? No more embarrassing puffy nipples or male breasts!
- CoolCore has a wider curved cup as compared to the CoolCurve+ to shrink stubborn love handles with ease.
- CoolMax is the largest applicator which can treat 2.5 times the area of other applicators. This time-saver comes in real handy to debulk a pregnant-looking tummy in larger dudes.
- CoolFit has a straight and narrow cup that’s ideal to sculpt the abs or other areas where a curved applicator will not draw.
- CoolSmooth is the latest applicator to be introduced in 2014. This flat “cupless” applicator was made for non-pinchable areas such as the outer thighs and hips, an annoying trouble spot in ladies.
“Each patient should be assessed according to his needs so that the best treatment plan can be mapped out using a combination of the most suitable applicators to ensure optimal results. The Thermage radiofrequency treatment is often combined with CoolSculpting in many cases as well, to tighten up loose flabby skin after the fat reduction therapy for beach-ready flat abs.”
Read More: All You Need to Know About Man Boobs
Here is a video showing Rob Kardashian on Dancing With The Stars, complaining about his man boobs (a surprisingly common male affliction) and muffin top!
Watch this video on YouTube.
- By Gene Yeo