As we find ourselves approaching summer, and beach season soon to be in full effect, you may notice that your local gym has been filled up lately. Year after year, people panic over their winter hibernation weight and begin hitting the gym to get into beach body shape. Didn’t have the time or the will for the gym? Err on the other side and go for the perfect Belly Flop Body.
As an employee in the vacation industry I have become quite the expert on Belly Flops. Belly flops sound simple. Who hasn’t tried to do a beautiful swan dive and ended up in an ungraceful belly flop at some point in their lives? But like with most things, some of us have more natural talent at flopping than others. Some have been training their whole lives - long nights in buffet lines, late trips for KFC Double Downs, meal after meal of deep fried Twinkies...the training is endless.
For those of you who just can’t seem to get those 6-pack abs, here are some tips for how to put your more keg-esque midsection to work:
First of all, it’s important to know that a perfect belly flop is all about water displacement and pain. It is easy to tell if you nailed the water displacement part - is everyone that was tanning poolside now soaking wet and looking at you? Hello, new friends! Mission Accomplished. The pain part is more of a personal judgement call, but others will take notice based on the sound when you hit the water and the color of you belly. You want the sound to be a solid “THWACK!” not a wussy splash. Children make a splash. Real men aren’t afraid of the thwack. And as we say in the biz, you should be red from “nipple to navel.”
Height and hang time can also greatly influence a flop. Watch some videos of Blake Griffin to see what I’m talking about. You don’t have to get fancy here, but some height will lead to a better flop. In reality you just need enough time to get parallel to the water and into spread eagle formation.
A common mistake novices make is known as the “butt pucker.” This occurs when your body is hurling towards the water with meteoric speed and at the last nanosecond before you make contact, your rear goes skyward. I am told this is natural instinct to protect what Bro Council refers to as the “under the leaf area,” but in a true flop your entire body remains parallel to the water and every cell of your front makes contact at the same time. No one said this would be easy.
So get ready to turn some heads this summer. If you can’t lure them with a tone and a tan, try a flop.
Thanks to special guest poster Valerie Perry for the insight!
