Abdominal exercises

Pilates ab sequences are excellent at 'toning' - you could try a DVD or join a class (I would recommend the latter). No point in launching into 600 situps every morning, as you are likely to knacker your neck or low back, and end up literally beached like a whale, with ice packs on various parts to relieve the pain!

It's also important to understand toned abdominal muscles don't get rid of fat. If there's a layer of fat above the muscles before the exercises, it will most likely be there after the exercise.

Therefore, healthy eating is an essential component of any exercise programme.

Myarka

Oops - yes - forgot to mention the healthy eating bit!

I have fantastically toned abs - protected by my permanent Sumo Suit!

As mentioned, sit-ups are only a small part of what you need. They only work a certain portion of the abdominals. You need to think about the whole waist and upper body. Tone the lower back and it will tighten your waist. Tone your top half and this will lift your belly, giving a better posture too. Apparently squats are one of the best for abs as they require a lot of abdominal stabilising when doing them.

Thanks for all the replies,am actually eating quite healthy at the moments,the videos sound good,perhaps incorporating some aerobic exercise like walking and/cycling would be a good idea also.

Hi,

Abdominal workouts could be best utilized to lose belly fat.

There are many most effective and best core workouts for tightening and firming your stomach and abdominal muscles. Abdominal Exercises are fun to do when it is combined with a Proper Diet. You need to perform few three-five abdominal exercises in three-five weeks. Start each exercise and follow it repeatedly for your Fitness level until you improve.

Most people forget that you don't only have to eat the right kind of food but you also have to eat at the right times. You can completely spoil the effects of good abs exercise by eating just before going to bed for example. There are lots of free ebooks about abs that you can download and read online. You can download one here:

Abdominal Exercise

Getting a flat and toned stomach is the 'holy grail' for many of my clients. However, hundreds of sit ups every day really is not the way forward. Firstly, you must look at diet. Start looking at your calorie intake and try to reduce your calories to provide a daily calorie deficit.

Next start looking at cardio exercise to burn bodyfat. Just these two in combination when done regularly will improve your chances of achieving flatter, harder abdominal muscles. Once you reach the stage of a flatter stomach then you can try to introduce some core stability exercises.

All core muscle work will help to engage the abdominal muscles whilst supporting and strengthening the lower back. Get yourself a swiss ball (stability ball) as this is the safest way to strengthen the core muscles from swiss ball crunches to sitting shoulder presses on the ball - all of these will help to engage the muscles in a more effective way than sit ups. Good Luck.