Cheshire Life’s new health and fitness coach invites you to get in shape - sensibly. In this, the first of his regular monthly columns, Warrington-based Colin Ayliffe helps you achieve a flat tummy

Great British Life: Health & Fitness coach, Colin Ayliffe, at Stockton HeathHealth & Fitness coach, Colin Ayliffe, at Stockton Heath (Image: Archant)

Finally flatten your tummy forever! A flat-toned midriff is the most sought-after goal with summer just around the corner.

Most of us try all kinds of abdominal exercises from wriggling around on our back pretending to ride a bicycle, to imitating a plank of wood.

It seems that even after performing endless repetitions of these exercises, they simply don’t work. So let’s delve into the reasons why.

Firstly, we must understand that our core muscles wrap around our intestinal organs like a corset, so if we have any inflammation in the gut, it will switch off our core muscles and our abs will not be able to contract effectively.

Eating ‘dead’ food like boxed, canned and processed items causes inflammation. This food is ‘dead’ because the body uses more energy to break down the food than it actually provides.

Dead foods are man-made and processed. Refined flour, high fructose corn syrup, refined sugar, some grains, trans fat, saturated fat, alcohol, caffeine and nicotine are all gut irritants.

Performing abdominal exercises with an inflamed digestive system not only means our abs cannot respond to the exercise but we’ll also overcompensate in other areas like the neck muscles and hip flexors.

This can create poor posture, pain and injury when all you’re after is a flat tummy.

Secondly, all organs in the body communicate through the same nerves that control our muscles. Our deep back muscles share the same nerve loop as our digestive organs. If the stomach and intestines are inflamed this can inhibit the lower back muscles causing us pain.

Finally, our core muscles are designed to move our spine forward, backwards, side to side and rotate it. So we should perform exercises that mimic all these actions to fully work the abs.

Flat tummy forever

If you want to finally flatten your tummy forever, follow these simple guidelines and you’ll no longer be fighting a losing battle but losing inches around the waistline:

? Avoid ‘dead’ foods like canned, boxed and processed items.

? Eat foods that were once alive. It takes life to give life.

? Other causes that can disable the core muscles are stress, alcohol, medical drugs, food additives, preservatives and colourings.

? Focus on functional exercises that require stabilisation as well as strength. Ask a fitness professional for ideas.

About Colin

My name is Colin Ayliffe and I’m a Movement and Lifestyle Coach and CHEK Practitioner (Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiologist) with over a decade of experience in the health and fitness industry.

This article is the first of my new regular columns for Cheshire Life. I’m going to be doing my best to help you achieve better health and fitness –without imposing strange regimes or shouting at you!

I hold a degree in Sport Science and I’ve worked in London, Dubai and Bermuda, training a diverse range of clients, before recently relocating to Warrington with my wife, Lisa.

I’ve found that no matter where in the world I’ve worked, everyone has one thing in common: we all want to live happy and healthy lives. I’ve dedicated my career to helping people achieve this. I run my own coaching business at www.CoconutFitness.com and also practice at Cheshire Natural Health. If you’re interested in personal coaching, then contact me at Info@CoconutFitness.com or ring 07804 920007.