Additionally...
Contracting your transverse Abdominal muscles will not only pull your stomach inward like a corset and make your stomach firm and flat, but may ALSO help to burn off the fat adjacent to it while contracting it! See: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/spot_reduction_is_real_heres_how_to_do_it I like to keep my TVA muscles contracted WHILE I do my cardio, and this may be an alternative better tailored for those of you, like me, who don't want a bulky six-pack but just a firm and flat tummy. So, wherein this link the author suggests working your outer abdominal muscles with crunches and whatnot (keep in mind that he intends his audience to be men, not women), you can replace these abdominal contracting exercises with the stomach vacuum! As far as further warming up the area, I have been wanting to buy a lifting belt anyway for my squats so I can just use this and kill two birds with one stone. I just need to find a good one. But it is good to have finally found the answer to my question, that the belts do NOT need to be neoprene or rubber. Just an extra thick layer to warm the area is enough. Also, before anyone gets too excited about the apparent weight that they lose from wearing something to heat up the location while doing cardio: almost all of that weight you observe is water weight you're losing. The fat loss achieved by this method would be noticed only OVER TIME of repeated and correct use. Additionally, if it is better for you to go without a belt, there is a product called Sweet Sweat which helps to dilate the blood vessels in the location of application and so it is effective in that way by drawing the blood to the location. But, so I want to address the point of doing a fasted morning cardio. I am not sure about exercising first thing in the morning without eating. I have to be at work by 7am, the gym opens at 5am, and I am not a morning person! Even if I was to be exercising at exactly 5am and I did it for the recommended hour (I wonder if a half hour would be just fine
), I would not have enough time to get ready for work and be there in time after the drive back from the gym. Who knows, maybe someday 
when I finally get a new job! I would probably have to shower at the gym, though.
And finally, here are the couple photos I took. The first two are from last year and the year before, all before I started my program. I included a photo in jeans (August 2011) and in yoga pants (February 2011). The following two (in the following post) are from a month ago, also shown in a pair of jeans (taken May 2) and in yoga pants (taken April 21). I apologize as the lighting sucks because I could not use the flash as I was taking the photos in a mirror
and the lighting in my room is not great. I'm sure you ladies know what I'm talking about... And the last photo I took at random during the first week of my break (May 15). I love the way a butt looks from under a babydoll top! All of these photos are taken without flexing, and I tried to get photos showing a straight side angle for more accurate comparison.
Contracting your transverse Abdominal muscles will not only pull your stomach inward like a corset and make your stomach firm and flat, but may ALSO help to burn off the fat adjacent to it while contracting it! See: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/spot_reduction_is_real_heres_how_to_do_it I like to keep my TVA muscles contracted WHILE I do my cardio, and this may be an alternative better tailored for those of you, like me, who don't want a bulky six-pack but just a firm and flat tummy. So, wherein this link the author suggests working your outer abdominal muscles with crunches and whatnot (keep in mind that he intends his audience to be men, not women), you can replace these abdominal contracting exercises with the stomach vacuum! As far as further warming up the area, I have been wanting to buy a lifting belt anyway for my squats so I can just use this and kill two birds with one stone. I just need to find a good one. But it is good to have finally found the answer to my question, that the belts do NOT need to be neoprene or rubber. Just an extra thick layer to warm the area is enough. Also, before anyone gets too excited about the apparent weight that they lose from wearing something to heat up the location while doing cardio: almost all of that weight you observe is water weight you're losing. The fat loss achieved by this method would be noticed only OVER TIME of repeated and correct use. Additionally, if it is better for you to go without a belt, there is a product called Sweet Sweat which helps to dilate the blood vessels in the location of application and so it is effective in that way by drawing the blood to the location. But, so I want to address the point of doing a fasted morning cardio. I am not sure about exercising first thing in the morning without eating. I have to be at work by 7am, the gym opens at 5am, and I am not a morning person! Even if I was to be exercising at exactly 5am and I did it for the recommended hour (I wonder if a half hour would be just fine
), I would not have enough time to get ready for work and be there in time after the drive back from the gym. Who knows, maybe someday when I finally get a new job! I would probably have to shower at the gym, though.And finally, here are the couple photos I took. The first two are from last year and the year before, all before I started my program. I included a photo in jeans (August 2011) and in yoga pants (February 2011). The following two (in the following post) are from a month ago, also shown in a pair of jeans (taken May 2) and in yoga pants (taken April 21). I apologize as the lighting sucks because I could not use the flash as I was taking the photos in a mirror
and the lighting in my room is not great. I'm sure you ladies know what I'm talking about... And the last photo I took at random during the first week of my break (May 15). I love the way a butt looks from under a babydoll top! All of these photos are taken without flexing, and I tried to get photos showing a straight side angle for more accurate comparison.