How To Firm Up Your Stomach

As summer approaches, so does beach season. So it is no wonder we're concerned about getting our stomachs in shape.

Just in time, the bestselling book, "The Abs Diet Workout" has a companion DVD so you can actually see the six-week program designed to flatten your stomach and keep you lean for life.

"We did a study of 3,000 men and women that found that abs, or a flat stomach, is the No.1 goal they have for beach season," David Zinczenko, author of "The Abs Diet" and editor of Mens Health magazine tells The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen..

"Vanity aside," he notes, "the health benefits are tremendous because belly fat is the deadliest fat in the body. It basically cozies up to your internal organs like a drunk at a bar, and it basically leads to things over time like health disease and diabetes and cancer. If you can strip it out of there - and you can - 20 pounds in up to six weeks, you suddenly find you have more energy, you're sleeping better, not getting sick as much, and enjoying a much better sex life."

If you are not familiar with his plan, Zinczenko explains, "Most diets are eating less to weigh less - a lot of restrictions and deprivation. This is eating more to weigh less. You're eating six times a day in an assortment of foods to revamp your metabolism and strip away fat so that you look, feel, and live better than ever."

Zinczenko notes for every pound of muscle you gain, your resting metabolic rate goes up as much as 50 calories a day. He spells it out by calling them power foods, and encourages people to remember to eat the acronym for the ABS DIET POWER:

Almonds and other nuts
Beans and legumes
Spinach, other green vegetables

Dairy (fat-free or 1% milk, yogurt)
Instant oatmeal (unsweetened, unflavored)
Eggs
Turkey and other lean meats

Peanut Butter
Olive oil
Whole-grain breads/cereals
Extra-protein (whey) powder
Raspberries and other berries

The companion DVD features a 20-minute workout routine designed to optimize The Abs Diet plan. The workout includes a warm-up, abdominal exercises, full-body circuit routine, and a power stretch for the beginner, intermediate and advanced user. The DVD also features basic principles of The Abs Diet plan including "The 12 Powerfoods" and sample recipes. And although, it is not the whole book on a DVD, it does feature printable menus and nutritional guidelines.

Two exercise techniques explained are circuit training and compound movements. Circuit training means that the body is always in motion, moving from one exercise to another. Zinczenko says that circuit training is designed to keep the heart rate elevated, thus raising the metabolism. Compound exercises are ones that work several muscle groups at one time. For example, Zinczenko says one of the best compound exercises is the squat because it targets 256 different muscles.

"We'll put you through a little program," Zinczenko says, "It's very efficient. Twenty minutes three times a week, that's all you need."