Ways to tone belly... HELP

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  • blondiek91
    blondiek91 Posts: 22
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    Honestly you can't just wake up and say I want abs in 3 weeks for my holiday, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. You have to eat right which means hitting your macros, and not going over your daily calorie goal. They say clean or healthy eating helps but I've also seen people with awesome looking abs say they eat whatever they want. Cardio helps but lifting requires your core to be engaged at all times. Like they said lower your bf % you can have abs and have them hiding under a layer of fat and the only way to really get rid of that layer of fat is lowering your bf%. So what I am trying to say is if you want abs you need to dedicate time and good eating. It takes time, I started using this site in february of this year with the goal of abs and although I've seen amazing results with my body, abs are still something I am working on. Good luck!

    Thankyouuu... I was thinking maybe I had abs hiding away under a layer of fat as my abs never hurt the day after I've been to the gym even though I've worked them more than the rest of me... but then again it could just be that I'm not working them correctly... I cant quite decide whether its toning I need to do or lose the inch of fat from my belly (which doesnt seem to want to shift) .... I think I'm going to give lifting a go as I've seen so many good results on here :)
  • kgprice11
    kgprice11 Posts: 750 Member
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    Stomach / ab workouts:

    Push-ups (surprising not many people thing that they also tone your tummy)
    Sit-ups
    Crunches
    Bicycle crunches
    Side crunches
    Planks
    burpees (look up the 4-5 part workout)
  • blondiek91
    blondiek91 Posts: 22
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    Cardio is good but you need to incorporate weight lifting into your program. When you build muscle, that muscle will burn fat. Don't concentrate directly on abs though. You can do all the ab work you want but if you have layers of fat over those muscles, you will never see them. The combination of weights and cardio is your best option. Do 30-45 minutes of weight training 3 times a week and cardio about twice and you should start seeing results. Just remember to feed your body though. Working out like that will burn a ton of calories and your body will need some of those back to help you with your energy and help repair your muscles.

    Thankyouu :) would you recommend doing the cardio and weight lifting on different days ? Or in 1 work out
  • TONYAGOOCH
    TONYAGOOCH Posts: 470 Member
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    Cardio is good but you need to incorporate weight lifting into your program. When you build muscle, that muscle will burn fat. Don't concentrate directly on abs though. You can do all the ab work you want but if you have layers of fat over those muscles, you will never see them. The combination of weights and cardio is your best option. Do 30-45 minutes of weight training 3 times a week and cardio about twice and you should start seeing results. Just remember to feed your body though. Working out like that will burn a ton of calories and your body will need some of those back to help you with your energy and help repair your muscles.

    Thankyouu :) would you recommend doing the cardio and weight lifting on different days ? Or in 1 work out

    My trainer recommends on different days so that you are using your muscles at 100% insted of like 60% but if you do want to do the cardio on the same day she recommends that you do it AFTER lifting. By the way her husbands lifts professionally and they both train men and women for competition.
  • TinkrBelz
    TinkrBelz Posts: 888 Member
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    Not sure if you can get those in 3 weeks, but still try.

    I say cut your carbs down. I have not looked in your diary, so maybe you already do this. But I eat 100 grams/carbs or less per day. This has worked better for me than cutting my calories. I still eat 1800 calories per day.

    Do planks and Ab vacuums. Youtube "Ab Vacuums" I can not do it as well as the people on there, but I am getting better. Planks and Ab vacuums work your transverse abs and actually pulls your stomach muscles in.

    You can go into my album and I have a side by side before and after picture (Before picture is Dec 2011/After is June 2012). I have 6 kids so I do have loose skin and stretch marks, BUT, my tummy looks a lot better. I have lost 2 inches in my waist from doing what I said above.
  • c1aireee
    c1aireee Posts: 297 Member
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    maybe try doing some Pilates to tone up
  • LittleButMightyOne
    LittleButMightyOne Posts: 117
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    Like some of the above posters said, you have to not only build muscle there but also lose fat (which unfortunately can't be lost in any specific spot since it happens overall) in order for the underlying muscle to become apparent.

    But I may have a bit more to add in terms of goals. In one of my last issues of Women's Health, a similar question was sent in. The answer was that, for abs to show, women should aim for a 20-22% fat composition; for a more lean, defined look, 18-20% should be the goal.

    Do yourself a favor, though, and get your body fat composition actually tested by a machine at a gym or medical fitness center. Don't go by "online body fat calculators," and skin fold tests can also have a relatively large margin of error. This way you can get a more accurate picture of where you are and where you need to be.

    As for how to get there, keep doing what your'e doing! If you find you're already within those percentage ranges for body fat, focus more on building muscle and eating enough protein to supply it (I'd suggest 100g + a day). It takes 2200 calories to build one pound of muscle, but a woman is lucky if she can add .25 pounds per week. And if you are not yet at those body fat percentages, aim for lowering body fat and gaining muscle, like your'e doing now.

    The best cardio for burning fat while maintaining/gaining muscle is HIIT, or "High Intensity Interval Training." It can be done with almost any type of cardio. Just interchange short bursts (think 20-30 seconds to 1-1.5 minutes) of very intense exercise with longer bursts of low intensity exercise (think 40-60 seconds to 2-3 min). The best part about HIIT is that you don't have to exercise as long. A 10-20 minute bout can be as and more effective than a much longer, lower intensity cardio session. :)

    Also, as other posters have mentioned, you should analyze your diet if you find you need to lower your body fat percentage significantly. Don't eliminate fat, as it helps you reach satiety when you eat meals. Good fats are good for you! Think nut butters, avocado, olive oil... The more you weight train, the more protein you need. And carbs are good for providing short term energy for intense cardio.

    Always remember to have a recovery shake or meal/snack after a workout, because not doing so can cause muscle catabolism, where your body consumes your muscle (instead of fat!) for immediate refueling. If you did mostly strength training, have something with more protein; more cardio, and you need more carbs; both, and you need a mix. I often do strength right after cardio and have a recovery shake with 1/2-1 banana, almond milk, and vanilla protein powder.

    Wow, this is a long post. But I hope it helps!
  • kylTKe
    kylTKe Posts: 146 Member
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    As has been said several times, your abs will show when your body fat % is low enough. To lower your body fat % you simply need to have a net calorie loss by consuming less calories than your body burns. Your body burns a certain amount of calories just by living, this is called your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and it's related to your age/sex/weight. You can figure it out with any BMR calculator or on MFP. Additionally, exercise you do burns calories (as does any sort of normal activity, though normal activity usually burns a marginal amount of calories). Your BMR plus the calories burned from exercise are usually called TDEE (total daily energy expenditure).

    One pound of fat has 3500 calories in it. So lets say you're 150 lbs at 20% body fat, that means you have 150*0.2 pounds of fat on your body (30 lbs). So in order to get down to 15% (I think that's about the body fat % you need as a woman to have your abs show well) you need to lose 1/4 of that, or 7.5 lbs of fat. 7.5 lbs of fat is ~26000 calories. So, in order to get your abs to show you would need to have a net calorie loss of 26000 calories. If you have a net loss of 500 per day, that's about 2 months.

    Obviously the numbers don't work out like that in the real world, but it's a good understanding of how to lose weight. For starters, 22.5 / 142.5 is not 15%, it's slightly more. Second, even doing a slow cut you will likely end up losing some muscle with your fat, so in that example it would take more than 7.5 lbs lost to get down to your ideal body fat %. But, like I said it's a good basis for understanding how to get toned abs. If you don't already, log your exercise and diet on MFP so that you can see relatively accurately what is going on.
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
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    I'm no pro, but judging by your profile you're already itty bitty and gorgeous. A lot of the advice here doesn't seem to really apply to someone who's 120ish lbs with a 20some inch waist. Maybe watch your sodium to make sure you don't have any water retention/bloating going on, monitor carbs (without going anti-carb crazy), and just keep working out (lifting, planks, etc.) You look amazing already. Any progress you make in the next three weeks will just be bonus. :)
  • qtiekiki
    qtiekiki Posts: 1,490 Member
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    Based on what you've said, I suggest adding weight training and probably upping your calories. You can try HIIT with your running also. I am a big fan of interval training with full body exercises and plyometrics (using weights whenever possible), because that's what gave me definitions in my abs. Good luck.
  • blondiek91
    blondiek91 Posts: 22
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    I'm no pro, but judging by your profile you're already itty bitty and gorgeous. A lot of the advice here doesn't seem to really apply to someone who's 120ish lbs with a 20some inch waist. Maybe watch your sodium to make sure you don't have any water retention/bloating going on, monitor carbs (without going anti-carb crazy), and just keep working out (lifting, planks, etc.) You look amazing already. Any progress you make in the next three weeks will just be bonus. :)

    Aww thankyou so much :) I'll have a go at cutting my salt intake down as I must admit I do eat a lot of salt lol can't get enough of the stuff!
  • blondiek91
    blondiek91 Posts: 22
    Options
    Like some of the above posters said, you have to not only build muscle there but also lose fat (which unfortunately can't be lost in any specific spot since it happens overall) in order for the underlying muscle to become apparent.

    But I may have a bit more to add in terms of goals. In one of my last issues of Women's Health, a similar question was sent in. The answer was that, for abs to show, women should aim for a 20-22% fat composition; for a more lean, defined look, 18-20% should be the goal.

    Do yourself a favor, though, and get your body fat composition actually tested by a machine at a gym or medical fitness center. Don't go by "online body fat calculators," and skin fold tests can also have a relatively large margin of error. This way you can get a more accurate picture of where you are and where you need to be.

    As for how to get there, keep doing what your'e doing! If you find you're already within those percentage ranges for body fat, focus more on building muscle and eating enough protein to supply it (I'd suggest 100g + a day). It takes 2200 calories to build one pound of muscle, but a woman is lucky if she can add .25 pounds per week. And if you are not yet at those body fat percentages, aim for lowering body fat and gaining muscle, like your'e doing now.

    The best cardio for burning fat while maintaining/gaining muscle is HIIT, or "High Intensity Interval Training." It can be done with almost any type of cardio. Just interchange short bursts (think 20-30 seconds to 1-1.5 minutes) of very intense exercise with longer bursts of low intensity exercise (think 40-60 seconds to 2-3 min). The best part about HIIT is that you don't have to exercise as long. A 10-20 minute bout can be as and more effective than a much longer, lower intensity cardio session. :)

    Also, as other posters have mentioned, you should analyze your diet if you find you need to lower your body fat percentage significantly. Don't eliminate fat, as it helps you reach satiety when you eat meals. Good fats are good for you! Think nut butters, avocado, olive oil... The more you weight train, the more protein you need. And carbs are good for providing short term energy for intense cardio.

    Always remember to have a recovery shake or meal/snack after a workout, because not doing so can cause muscle catabolism, where your body consumes your muscle (instead of fat!) for immediate refueling. If you did mostly strength training, have something with more protein; more cardio, and you need more carbs; both, and you need a mix. I often do strength right after cardio and have a recovery shake with 1/2-1 banana, almond milk, and vanilla protein powder.

    Wow, this is a long post. But I hope it helps!

    Haha yess it has been helpful thanks! I will get my body fat measured at the gym tomorrow as I have noooo idea what mine is! And I'll definately give interval training a go, I usually just do steady running. And I'll also make sure I have a mixed carb and protein meal after working out as I usually mix cardio and strength too :)

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