How to lose this BELLY without doing situps?

Pollywog39

My trouble spot, like a lot of women of my vintage, is my tummy! I know I could wear a much smaller size, but this danged gut just gets in the way!

My measurements are approx 40/35/39.................If I could just lose more of that belly (and I have lost about 3 inches so far , I'd be able to wear smaller clothes! Most of the time, I'm trying to fit clothes to my tummy, and my pants sag around the hips and thighs.

What to do? I am almost 57 years old, don't relish the idea of sit-ups, and do a lot of walking at this stage. Are there other exercises for the stomach that DON'T involve getting on the floor?

BeesKnees181

Plank.. try it. A great ab work out!

Acg67

easy, a consistent caloric deficit as you cannot spot reduce

Shanahan09

Sadly, there are no exercises that spot reduce fat...It comes off where and when it wants to. But, you can build up your stomach muscles with certain workouts. My stomach is the last to go, so know how you feel. :ohwell:

servilia

easy, a consistent caloric deficit as you cannot spot reduce

This. You have to lose the fat and you can't control where you're gonna lose that from. But at some point you should lose from your waist So keep up your work on here and be patient.

daves160

Like Agc67 said, you can't target fat. Oh how I wish I could. You just keep burning it off all over and the stubborn places will go last.

deathstarclock

easy, a consistent caloric deficit as you cannot spot reduce

Quoting for truth. Try to burn as many calories you can in a day, and not eat as much. Like, be as active as possible. The "fat burning zone" is a myth.

CharityEaton

do standing ab exercises...like the straight leg soldier march while raising the opposite arm. Do lots of squats to build bigger leg muscles...the more muscle you have the more body fat you will burn. Gotta do cardio to burn the body fat too. Stand in a squat position with 3-5 lb hand weights in each hand and twist your torso from side to side hold everything tight, squeeze your abs while you do it. I promise you will see a difference after doing that one regularly. Or just get an exercise ball and do crunches and sit-ups on that instead of getting all the way down on the floor but like everyone said, you can't just target that area you gotta cut cals. do cardio and work that area to see max results! Good Luck!

Gay11nell

I totally agree with all the above posts.

But I do see faster results with Jilliam Michaels 30day shred + 20mins of extra cardio. While my gut is not a six pack, the measurements in inches are noticeable.

If You really ate situps like I do try Zumba or Shaun T's hip hop abs - neither of these is just an ab workout, REAL CARDIO!

MsCNicholleD

You definitely need to step up your cardio routine. Walking is not going to get you what you want unless you're walking at a moderately high speed at a constant incline. You should try the stationary or recumbent bike or the elliptical. And you always need to make sure to end the day with a negative calorie balance. If you end with a positive balance or remain isocaloric each day, you're not going to see results.

If you don't want to get on the floor, you can use an abdominal isolation machine at the gym. All you do is sit down and lean forward at a weight-resistance level that is comfortable for you. Doing this immediately after your cardio routine and it will help to enhance the amount of calories burned during your set. Also, higher intensity cardio will help you to continue to burn calories even after you've finished your routine. This is what you want to try to accomplish most of all. The amount of calories burned during a cardio exercise pale in comparison to the amount you will burn at rest if you opt for higher intensity. You will increase your overall resting metabolic rate which will make a huge difference in the rate at which your reach your goals.

ninerbuff

Plank.. try it. A great ab work out!

That's on the floor. Probably should have read all the way through.

Pollywog39

Good suggestions, all!

I've been on this venture about 3 months, and have lost approx 12 lbs, and 3 inches from my waist - mostly just with walking, at this point. I come from a very sedentary beginning, so seeing this kind of progress is really amazing to me!

Am tracking and logging foods, and have been under calorie goal more often than not........so it's working! Of course, like anyone else, I want it to be faster But it took me 5 decades to get here - I truly don't expect it to change overnight, and want to establish goals and habits for the rest of my life!

You guys rock......thanks :blushing: :blushing:

Cassycat

Spot reduction is in-fact a myth! When one burns fat, its burned over the entire body. So if you burn off a pound of fat during a week, it would be reduced all over, instead of just one area (tummy, thighs, etc..) It sucks!

However! Combining diet and abdominal exercise, you'll see a better result in your midsection sooner, as you're building lean muscle which shows through the skin surrounded by the fat you'd be losing. As you lose more weight, your stomach will become more defined, even though you're losing weight all over. So keep on the weight-loss trail, and add in some planks, or even 30 day shred, it does wonders!

TeaBea

Look for "standing crunches"
http://www.ehow.com/how_4450629_perform-standing-ab-exercises.html
http://www.ehow.com/video_4465972_do-standing-abdominal-exercises.html

I like a "walking" workout that incorporates standing ab work (this is more low impact aerobics than walking) .....Ellen Barrett's Flat Belly Workout: Walk Off Belly Fat is fun

Another video (more standing ab ideas) Kathy Smith Tummy Trimmers; it has 4 - 10 workouts. Standing abs and stability ball are my favorites. The stability ball is great for building stronger abs.

psuLemon

You definitely need to step up your cardio routine. Walking is not going to get you what you want unless you're walking at a moderately high speed at a constant incline. You should try the stationary or recumbent bike or the elliptical. And you always need to make sure to end the day with a negative calorie balance. If you end with a positive balance or remain isocaloric each day, you're not going to see results.

If you don't want to get on the floor, you can use an abdominal isolation machine at the gym. All you do is sit down and lean forward at a weight-resistance level that is comfortable for you. Doing this immediately after your cardio routine and it will help to enhance the amount of calories burned during your set. Also, higher intensity cardio will help you to continue to burn calories even after you've finished your routine. This is what you want to try to accomplish most of all. The amount of calories burned during a cardio exercise pale in comparison to the amount you will burn at rest if you opt for higher intensity. You will increase your overall resting metabolic rate which will make a huge difference in the rate at which your reach your goals.

You actually dont' need to do cardio to burn a lot of body fat. In fact, tons of cardio generally reduces muscle size due to the large deficits created by cardio exercise. If you want to increase your metabolism, you need to increase muscle mass, plain and simple. In fact, I have seen several people (my friends) who don't even do cardio but have six packs. Cardio helps with cardio vascular health, the ability to push blood throughout your body, but muscle creation is what helps burn fat. Now, I will agree that HIIT like you suggest is really good because it provides both muscle growth potential and cardio improvements but while you are trying to build muscle, you can't have a large caloric deficit.

OP, there are tons of core exercise that increase muscle mass. I will say, i do enjoy Hip Hop Abs. It works the entire core region and no sit ups are required.

kmbrooks15

Or just get an exercise ball and do crunches and sit-ups on that instead of getting all the way down on the floor but like everyone said, you can't just target that area you gotta cut cals. do cardio and work that area to see max results! Good Luck!

This^^^^

You can't spot reduce the fat, but you don't want to neglect that area either. When the fat does finally start coming off in that area, you want to have already been targeting that area so that you've strengthened the muscles there (that helps prevent back problems, too). You work out the other areas of your body so that when the fat starts to reduce, you're left with strong, toned-up muscles. You want the same in the abdominal area.

I do my crunches on an exercise ball. I started that because of having had back surgery, and the doctor told me to do crunches on a ball to support my back (form is important--don't curl your chin into your chest). I've actually found that doing them on the ball really targets the lower abs better than doing them on the floor. If you use the treadmill or elliptical, let go and don't hold on with your hands. You will be forced to balance, which works the core muscles. Concentrate on pulling in your ab muscles when you're just sitting around or walking. You could also try just sitting up really straight on an exercise ball. You have to balance, which also works those muscles. You could do that while just watching TV.

bloodguilt

My trouble spot, like a lot of women of my vintage, is my tummy! I know I could wear a much smaller size, but this danged gut just gets in the way!

My measurements are approx 40/35/39.................If I could just lose more of that belly (and I have lost about 3 inches so far , I'd be able to wear smaller clothes! Most of the time, I'm trying to fit clothes to my tummy, and my pants sag around the hips and thighs.

What to do? I am almost 57 years old, don't relish the idea of sit-ups, and do a lot of walking at this stage. Are there other exercises for the stomach that DON'T involve getting on the floor?

I agree with Acg67. Spot reduce is a century-old-myth!

ktfitzgerald

I read somewhere that taking fish oil would help (along with diet) to reduce belly fat. I've been taking it for about 8 months now and believe it has helped...plus it has lots of other great benefits. It may be just mental, but even so it seems to be helping. Just a thought.... Good luck.

dad106

You definitely need to step up your cardio routine. Walking is not going to get you what you want unless you're walking at a moderately high speed at a constant incline. You should try the stationary or recumbent bike or the elliptical. And you always need to make sure to end the day with a negative calorie balance. If you end with a positive balance or remain isocaloric each day, you're not going to see results.

If you don't want to get on the floor, you can use an abdominal isolation machine at the gym. All you do is sit down and lean forward at a weight-resistance level that is comfortable for you. Doing this immediately after your cardio routine and it will help to enhance the amount of calories burned during your set. Also, higher intensity cardio will help you to continue to burn calories even after you've finished your routine. This is what you want to try to accomplish most of all. The amount of calories burned during a cardio exercise pale in comparison to the amount you will burn at rest if you opt for higher intensity. You will increase your overall resting metabolic rate which will make a huge difference in the rate at which your reach your goals.

Can you please post a study/where you got your info?

I've been walking for over 11 months here on a treadmill doing varying workouts some high speed, some low, some high incline and some not and my stomach is flat.. So I'm kind of wondering why you say walking won't help. Plus I hardly ever end my day with a negative calorie balance and it's been working ok for losing weight/flat stomach.. so again, wondering why your saying this.

To Op:
Calorie deficit, cardio and some weights will help you lose that stomach if the body decides thats what it wants to do... if it doesn't, then your kinda stuck.

JennW130

do standing ab exercises...like the straight leg soldier march while raising the opposite arm. Do lots of squats to build bigger leg muscles...the more muscle you have the more body fat you will burn. Gotta do cardio to burn the body fat too. Stand in a squat position with 3-5 lb hand weights in each hand and twist your torso from side to side hold everything tight, squeeze your abs while you do it. I promise you will see a difference after doing that one regularly. Or just get an exercise ball and do crunches and sit-ups on that instead of getting all the way down on the floor but like everyone said, you can't just target that area you gotta cut cals. do cardio and work that area to see max results! Good Luck!

the standing ab exercises is what i was going to suggest as well.

gashinshotan

Just lose the fat.... the only time I've ever had defined abs was when I was really cut from running all the time - never did ab exercises either...

tladame

I've gotten great results with Jillian Michaels' 6 Week Six-Pack DVD. It incorporates ab exercises (many of them done while standing) along with cardio. All you need is 1 hand weight (dumbell), and the DVD itself is only around $8.00.

belinda_b

easy, a consistent caloric deficit as you cannot spot reduce

I have been doing a consistent caloric defict for months, am at my goal weight and been exercising (running, weights, sits ups, burpees, etc) and my stomach is sooo not bikini ready at all.(am going on vacation and wish it was) I have no idea why or what's happening. I hate to blame it on age (39) but is that it?

TeaBea

easy, a consistent caloric deficit as you cannot spot reduce

I have been doing a consistent caloric defict for months, am at my goal weight and been exercising (running, weights, sits ups, burpees, etc) and my stomach is sooo not bikini ready at all.(am going on vacation and wish it was) I have no idea why or what's happening. I hate to blame it on age (39) but is that it?

I blame my issue (thunder thighs) on heredity, other women in my family are built the same. I've been thin and I've even been too thin .... still keeping the big thighs! Sometimes a perfect body is just not meant to be.

jennifer52484

I have found that running on the treadmill works your core muscles. So try running. I am seeing some abs pop through lol. Another exercise you could try is take a 10-15lb dumbbell and hold on one side, keep close to body, stand up straight and lean towards the floor with the dumbbell. and do the same on the other side. Not sure if there is a name for this exercise but it works your side obliques.

psuLemon

easy, a consistent caloric deficit as you cannot spot reduce

I have been doing a consistent caloric defict for months, am at my goal weight and been exercising (running, weights, sits ups, burpees, etc) and my stomach is sooo not bikini ready at all.(am going on vacation and wish it was) I have no idea why or what's happening. I hate to blame it on age (39) but is that it?

Age will affect it because as you age, it's harder to maintain/increase muscle mass. That is why strength training is even more important as you age. It may be that your core muscles aren't as strong or developed as you would liek to get that defined ab region. Working the whole core will increase the muscle mass and help improve the visibility of definition but still requires an overall deficit (probably a much smaller one) in order to get the results you want. It is one reason it's suggested to reduce your deficit as you approach yoru goal.

MsCNicholleD

You definitely need to step up your cardio routine. Walking is not going to get you what you want unless you're walking at a moderately high speed at a constant incline. You should try the stationary or recumbent bike or the elliptical. And you always need to make sure to end the day with a negative calorie balance. If you end with a positive balance or remain isocaloric each day, you're not going to see results.

If you don't want to get on the floor, you can use an abdominal isolation machine at the gym. All you do is sit down and lean forward at a weight-resistance level that is comfortable for you. Doing this immediately after your cardio routine and it will help to enhance the amount of calories burned during your set. Also, higher intensity cardio will help you to continue to burn calories even after you've finished your routine. This is what you want to try to accomplish most of all. The amount of calories burned during a cardio exercise pale in comparison to the amount you will burn at rest if you opt for higher intensity. You will increase your overall resting metabolic rate which will make a huge difference in the rate at which your reach your goals.

Can you please post a study/where you got your info?

I've been walking for over 11 months here on a treadmill doing varying workouts some high speed, some low, some high incline and some not and my stomach is flat.. So I'm kind of wondering why you say walking won't help. Plus I hardly ever end my day with a negative calorie balance and it's been working ok for losing weight/flat stomach.. so again, wondering why your saying this.

To Op:
Calorie deficit, cardio and some weights will help you lose that stomach if the body decides thats what it wants to do... if it doesn't, then your kinda stuck.

You just said that you vary your workout with some high speed, low speed, incline, etc. That is exactly what I've advised her to do in order to see results. Walking at only a slow pace and not creating a calorie deficite will certainly not get her the results she's looking for. How are you so sure that you aren't ending your days with a negative calorie balance? Many times people inaccurately calculate the amount of calories they burn during exercise and also do not take into account their RMR. You may actually have a negative calorie balance without knowing it. You burn calories at rest as well as when you exercise. In fact, the more intensely you exercise, the higher your RMR, which means an increase in the amount of calories you burn at rest. Simply put, you may be burning more calories than you realize and your calculations may be inaccurate.

Back to the walking, you need to walk at a speed that will raise your heart rate above your normal resting level. If you are an active person (which I am assuming she is), constantly walking at a slow pace will not do this. For a person with a more sedentary lifestyle, walking at a slow pace can help them begin the process of losing weight because their bodies are not used to being active. After becoming active for a certain period of time, you eventually need to step up your intensity level if you want to continue to see results. That is common knowledge, but I will take some time to look online for a study for you and post it shortly.

I am also a senior Kinesiology major at LSU and will be entering the Master's Program for Physician Assistant Studies next year, so this is all part of my field of study and I am a shameless nerd.

And good job on sticking with your routine for 11+ months. I love when people set goals and stick with them for prolonged periods of time. Says a lot about the person's character.

MsCNicholleD

You definitely need to step up your cardio routine. Walking is not going to get you what you want unless you're walking at a moderately high speed at a constant incline. You should try the stationary or recumbent bike or the elliptical. And you always need to make sure to end the day with a negative calorie balance. If you end with a positive balance or remain isocaloric each day, you're not going to see results.

If you don't want to get on the floor, you can use an abdominal isolation machine at the gym. All you do is sit down and lean forward at a weight-resistance level that is comfortable for you. Doing this immediately after your cardio routine and it will help to enhance the amount of calories burned during your set. Also, higher intensity cardio will help you to continue to burn calories even after you've finished your routine. This is what you want to try to accomplish most of all. The amount of calories burned during a cardio exercise pale in comparison to the amount you will burn at rest if you opt for higher intensity. You will increase your overall resting metabolic rate which will make a huge difference in the rate at which your reach your goals.

You actually dont' need to do cardio to burn a lot of body fat. In fact, tons of cardio generally reduces muscle size due to the large deficits created by cardio exercise. If you want to increase your metabolism, you need to increase muscle mass, plain and simple. In fact, I have seen several people (my friends) who don't even do cardio but have six packs. Cardio helps with cardio vascular health, the ability to push blood throughout your body, but muscle creation is what helps burn fat. Now, I will agree that HIIT like you suggest is really good because it provides both muscle growth potential and cardio improvements but while you are trying to build muscle, you can't have a large caloric deficit.

OP, there are tons of core exercise that increase muscle mass. I will say, i do enjoy Hip Hop Abs. It works the entire core region and no sit ups are required.

I am thoroughly confused by your post. Nowhere in her original post did she say that she was trying to gain muscle. If she is only concerned with fat loss, then cardio is just fine for her.

You are correct when you say that muscle building burns fat, but I don't think that she is looking to get to the level of weight training required to achieve this. Most of the time this requires a mixture of high set/low rep to help build significant mass and low set/high rep to build significant strength. When I weight train, I make sure to keep moving in order to keep my heart rate up and maintain intensity. By doing this, weight training becomes a cardio workout in itself. This is probably why so many of your friends don't have to do cardio in order to burn fat. Most bodybuilders and general mass gainers do not do cardio at all because they do not have to due to the level of intensity achieved in their weight routine.

I didn't advise her to weight train because she never expressed an interest in that and it is not necessary if her only concern is fat loss. Weight training is great for everyone but some people simply are not interested in that type of exercise (could be due to age, level of physical ability, health issues or just general disinterest) and it is certainly not the only way to successful fat burning, so presenting it as such is misleading and inaccurate.

MsCNicholleD

I totally agree with all the above posts.

But I do see faster results with Jilliam Michaels 30day shred + 20mins of extra cardio. While my gut is not a six pack, the measurements in inches are noticeable.

If You really ate situps like I do try Zumba or Shaun T's hip hop abs - neither of these is just an ab workout, REAL CARDIO!

I absolutely LOVE Jillian Michaels lol. She is an amazing success story and a great inspiration.

jenomaha

Interesting...unless I missed it, I don't recall anybody addressing quality of food. I saw people suggest a caloric deficit, but quality of food plays an integral part as well. It's great if you are staying at or under your calorie goal, but there is a difference if those calories are coming from processed, white flour, sugar laden, fried foods versus whole grains, fruits, veggies, low fat dairy and lean meats/fish. So also keep in mind the quality of food you are eating quality, not just quantity. Good luck!

sweet_peas_94

What worked for me, is cutting out things like bread and milk - and replacing it instead, with meal combinations like salmon and egg whites with a bit of low fat cream cheese. Or spinach. You need to eat raw, whole, foods. Nothing processed. Basically, reduce your caloric intake - and don't consume a lot of carbs and empty calories. Also, drink a lot of water and chew on ice for hunger pains. Exercise wise - it's a good idea to do some swimming, running and also, there's a little trick I'll share with you : Suck in your stomach, then take 30 deep breaths with your lungs. This will tighten your stomach muscles, and you should see a difference right away.