HELP stomach toning

Mutterz

Hi guys,

Does anyone know of a way to tone stomach muscles that isn't crunches or sit ups? I've got a back injury and sit-ups/crunches are really hard to do and I'm worried about injuring myself further! Any suggestions would be appreciated

Pete

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Spot reduction is impossible. If you lose more weight it will eventually come from there. Where your body stores fat is genetic. There are no exercises you can do or foods to eat/not eat to target where your fat is lost.

LifeJacketWaterJogger

HIP HOP ABS, IS EASY ON MY BACK ITS ONLY 19.95 ON BEACHBODY SITE

Loasaur

As everyone else said, spot reduction is impossible. However, you can do some core strengthening exercises. You could do planks, hip-to-floor drops, scissor kicks, single leg stretches, basket twists, or pulses. (If you don't know what some of these are, just youtube them. Tons of videos that can show you how to do it) The scissor kicks and leg stretches are very easy on the back. I don't know how the rest would affect your back though. Won't know till you try. :P

kirstyfairhead

I would recommend you speak with your doctor or get professional advice as what you can do will depend on the type of injury you have. It may be that your muscles need to be strengthened in order to support your back and crunches could be just the thing to do that, but the last thing you want is to make things worse.

Either way, any exercise that will 'tone up' your muscles is going to cause you a certain amount of soreness, it just needs to be 'good sore' not 'bad sore'.

As the lady above has mentioned however, you can have the most amazing 'toned up' abs but you won't be able to see them unless you lose enough fat for them to be revealed so I guess it also depends on what results you are actually looking for!!!

glovepuppet

the OP didn't even ask about spot reduction.

wswilliams67

First, there is no such thing as 'toning'. Just saying.

If you want to increase ab core strength then do Hollow Rocks and Hollow Holds.

Hollow Rock with mods: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V72HS7BV42g

Trust me... interval train the Hollow Rock and you will be sore in the core man. Very little stress on the spine as well.

For your sit-ups... I'd get yourself an Abmat if your back is an issue.

http://www.amazon.com/Abmat-abdominal-exerciser-core-trainer/dp/B0006UAC16/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1372956819&sr=8-2&keywords=abmat

Good Luck.

P.S. If you want a six pack, that's all diet man. No amount of ab work will get you ripped.

brookehe

Google "standing abs" - - I have a bad back that doesn't allow me to do floor exercises but I've been doing a standing abs set for about 2 months to strengthen my core and it's working (have lost inches when I've not lost pounds). Good luck!

weightlossforbrian

lay on your stomach and lift your legs and lift your arms up in front of you like superman. it will strengthen your core. my high school p.e. teacher called them super mans.

nomeejerome

Hi guys,

Does anyone know of a way to tone stomach muscles that isn't crunches or sit ups? I've got a back injury and sit-ups/crunches are really hard to do and I'm worried about injuring myself further! Any suggestions would be appreciated

Pete

It sounds like you should speak with a medical professional in your area because of a back injury. No advice from the internet can replace a professional that has access to your medical records.

glovepuppet

i suggest talking to a physio. they can give you exercises that won't make your back any worse. if not, you could seriously regret risking your spinal health on the workout advice of unqualified internet strangers.

xclassiqx

To others: OP is looking to strengthen the muscles not spot reduce.
To OP: try planks, dynamic planks, flutter kicks w/ hands under your butt for support, standing ab work.
Speak with a physician before performing any exercises since you have a back injury. But strengthening your core will help with your back.
Hope you get this resolved!

mag1c

As someone who has also had back injuries and 1 back surgery, I often shied away from doing anything that that I thought might further injure that area. However, after yet another disk herniation and consulting with an orthopedic doctor and a physical therapist that was interested in fixing this without cutting me open, I have come to the understanding that by avoiding using my lower back I created a huge muscular imbalance that actually set me up for a greater risk of re-injury. First off, consult with a doctor to be sure your back problem is stable and some bending and twisting isnt going to cause further damage. Also be aware that discomfort will be necessary, you don't have to cause pain but if you ever want to improve you will have to push past some comfort limits both mentally and physically. A staple of my early routines, after doing all the normal physical therapy movements for back injuries, was lying flat on my back and then using my core to bring my knees up to my chest slowly and in a controlled motion. When that gets easier and when you can do a full range of motion totally pain free try lying on a bench or a bed if you dont have a stand alone bench with your legs hanging off the end but keeping your feet off the floor, then once again use your abdominal muscles to raise your knees up to your chest, again staying in a pain free range of motion. At some point you are going to have to also begin working on building up the strength of your lower back/posterior chain/spinal erectors to keep things healthy and in balance. A roman chain or even a glute ham raise are great for that type of work. Trust me when I say with experience that going through this process will greatly improve your quality of life as well as reduce your future risk of further back injury. I guess the important part of all this was to say, Don't just work on the external abs, work on rebuilding your whole core, make it strong and stable.