At home ab exercises that don't cause a pooch?

AmandaMaitland

I would love to tone my stomach, but I feel like when I do crunches, sit-ups or things of that nature my stomach always pooches. Are there any good upper/lower belly toning exercises that have worked for you?

AdamBellfpt

Check you're breathing correctly….if you're breathing pattern is wrong that can enhance the "pooching"….breath out on the way up as it automatically flatten the stomach as you take the air out of your stomach!

Generally try and keep your abs sucked in as much as possible during the day….by teaching you muscles tostya contracted you will automatically have a flatter looking tummy!

Lastly, make sure you get the cardio in!

Hope that helps...

seansquared

All you can do to lose excess weight is to reduce bodyfat through (1) diet and/or (2) exercise. That's it. No amount of ab work will make your belly smaller, if anything it will look bigger even though that is muscle not fat.

jacksonpt

To lose the pooch, eat better/less.

To your question... squats and deadlifts.

xsmilexforxmex

Plank?

LoraF83

To lose the pooch, eat better/less.

To your question... squats and deadlifts.

Yep.

PriceK01

Adam's right about breathing. You always want to make sure you're breathing correctly. I do sit-ups with my knees slightly bent while squeezing a stability ball between them. I also use the ball between my knees while doing reverse sit-ups and lying leg lifts. Keeps your abs in and watch your breathing!

No_Finish_Line

Look for an ebook called legendary abs II. the whole thing may sound a bit like a gimic but it just a sound an progressive excercise strategy is always less then 10 min a session. you need a chin up bar though.

probably the best rule of thumb to take from the program is that you should do lower ab exercises before you do upper ab excercises. thats because the upper abs support the lower abs during lower ab work. so if you do lower first, the upper abs are fresher so you should be able to get the best lower ab workout possible, then when you get to your crunches you've pre exhausted your upper abs and you won't have to do as many crunches to get as much work out of them.

the abs actually respond a lot faster then most people think to training. It really is more about lowering bf % then doing the right exercises. Tho i have a relatively high bf and you can at least see some hints of abs there lol.

AmandaMaitland

Thanks everyone for the responses! I never considered my breathing, so I'll try to focus more on that. I have recently purchased a medicine ball as well, maybe I can incorporate that in to some workouts?

AnvilHead

No abdominal exercise will cause (or cure) a "pooch". A pooch is caused by bodyfat, and you can't exercise (or spot reduce) fat. Exercising the muscles beneath the "pooch" may strengthen them, but they'll still be covered by a layer of fat until you reduce it by caloric deficit.

...probably the best rule of thumb to take from the program is that you should do lower ab exercises before you do upper ab excercises. thats because the upper abs support the lower abs during lower ab work. so if you do lower first, the upper abs are fresher so you should be able to get the best lower ab workout possible, then when you get to your crunches you've pre exhausted your upper abs and you won't have to do as many crunches to get as much work out of them...

There's no such thing as "lower" and "upper" abs. The rectus abdominis is one large 'sheet' of muscle that covers the entire frontal abdomen:



When you do an abdominal exercise, the entire rectus abdominis contracts/fires - you can't just work part of it. What most people think of as "lower abdominal" exercises are usually actually working the hip flexors.

AmandaMaitland

No abdominal exercise will cause (or cure) a "pooch". A pooch is caused by bodyfat, and you can't exercise (or spot reduce) fat. Exercising the muscles beneath the "pooch" may strengthen them, but they'll still be covered by a layer of fat until you reduce it by caloric deficit.

...probably the best rule of thumb to take from the program is that you should do lower ab exercises before you do upper ab excercises. thats because the upper abs support the lower abs during lower ab work. so if you do lower first, the upper abs are fresher so you should be able to get the best lower ab workout possible, then when you get to your crunches you've pre exhausted your upper abs and you won't have to do as many crunches to get as much work out of them...

There's no such thing as "lower" and "upper" abs. The rectus abdominis is one large 'sheet' of muscle that covers the entire frontal abdomen:



When you do an abdominal exercise, the entire rectus abdominis contracts/fires - you can't just work part of it. What most people think of as "lower abdominal" exercises are usually actually working the hip flexors.

That makes sense to me. I'm 5'7", 145 lbs, have a 1200 calorie intake and I usually focus on cardio. Should I focus more on getting the fat off before I start toning or just incorporate toning during the process?

taso42

I am not aware of any exercises that cause a pooch. I think body fat and/or loose skin cause a pooch.

Lake_Po

Try pop pilates on Youtube. She has exercises specifically engineered to get rid of tummy pooch

AlsDonkBoxSquat

spend time in the kitchen.

cwolfman13

No abdominal exercise will cause (or cure) a "pooch". A pooch is caused by bodyfat, and you can't exercise (or spot reduce) fat. Exercising the muscles beneath the "pooch" may strengthen them, but they'll still be covered by a layer of fat until you reduce it by caloric deficit.

...probably the best rule of thumb to take from the program is that you should do lower ab exercises before you do upper ab excercises. thats because the upper abs support the lower abs during lower ab work. so if you do lower first, the upper abs are fresher so you should be able to get the best lower ab workout possible, then when you get to your crunches you've pre exhausted your upper abs and you won't have to do as many crunches to get as much work out of them...

There's no such thing as "lower" and "upper" abs. The rectus abdominis is one large 'sheet' of muscle that covers the entire frontal abdomen:



When you do an abdominal exercise, the entire rectus abdominis contracts/fires - you can't just work part of it. What most people think of as "lower abdominal" exercises are usually actually working the hip flexors.

That makes sense to me. I'm 5'7", 145 lbs, have a 1200 calorie intake and I usually focus on cardio. Should I focus more on getting the fat off before I start toning or just incorporate toning during the process?

I'd do it all. You want to do strength training..resistance training is a key component to burning fat and body composition. Cardio is important for overall fitness and for the heart, resistance training is vital to burning fat and replacing it with muscle and long term weight control and body composition. You don't necessarily burn as many calories, but you generally burn more fat doing resistance training...at least that has been my experience.

LaDonnaF

At 5'7" the "ideal" bodyweight is 135; this isn't taking into account your build but I'm going to say a petite frame would hold 135. So, by most standards you're carrying at the most an extra 10lbs if you're 145lbs. Bodyweight can fluctuate at least 5lbs daily considering water retention, etc. If you're looking to change your body I don't think a straight caloric deficit (1200 calories is too low in my opinion) is going to work for you. When you state you have a "pooch" it makes me think you have some loose skin which is probably due to a lack of muscle versus being overweight.

You should look into a weight/strength training program. Increased muscle tone will give you a more athletic looking figure and help with your "pooch." As another poster stated... abdominal exercises like crunches will not eliminate your "pooch" either, or give you visible abs. That is a combination of exercise and diet (moreso diet). I would recommend that you look at bodybuilding.com to give you a general ideo of a program that would work for you.

Best of luck

jackpotclown

I am not aware of any exercises that cause a pooch. I think body fat and/or loose skin cause a pooch.

I was not aware either.....guess I should change up my routine completely :huh: \m/

AnvilHead

That makes sense to me. I'm 5'7", 145 lbs, have a 1200 calorie intake and I usually focus on cardio. Should I focus more on getting the fat off before I start toning or just incorporate toning during the process?

The first thing I'd recommend is to read the first post in this thread, do the calculations and get your calorie/macro intake on target:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

And yes, I'd definitely recommend strength training. In your profile, you list looking good in bathing suits and looking good without clothes as part of your goals. Strength training, along with adequate protein intake, helps preserve lean body mass (i.e., muscle) as you lose fat. Lean body mass isn't what you want to lose - it's what gives your body that "toned" (as much as I hate the word) appearance. It's much easier to keep what muscle you have now than it is to try to build it back up after you've lost it.

Many people lose a lot of weight and then notice that they just look like a smaller version of what they were before - slim, but still saggy and droopy. It's commonly referred to as "skinny fat" - you're slender, but have a high bodyfat percentage and very little muscle mass. This is because you've lost a lot of fat, but you've also lost lean body mass (muscle) in the process. Not the desired result. A good strength training program (again - with adequate protein intake) will help you achieve the results you're looking for.

Doodlewhopper

It's not the ab work that is making you "pooch" so much, it's all the cabbage and beans youre eating!

btw....youve earned my respect for not blaming this on the dog. LOL

hiker359

I am not aware of any exercises that cause a pooch. I think body fat and/or loose skin cause a pooch.

I was not aware either.....guess I should change up my routine completely :huh: \m/

One of my favorite kind of pooches

No_Finish_Line

There's no such thing as "lower" and "upper" abs. The rectus abdominis is one large 'sheet' of muscle that covers the entire frontal abdomen:



When you do an abdominal exercise, the entire rectus abdominis contracts/fires - you can't just work part of it. What most people think of as "lower abdominal" exercises are usually actually working the hip flexors.

same concecpt as an incline bench press. not different muscles but working from different angles changes which part of the muscle takes most of the stress.

Not sure how pointing out that its just one muslce as any place in the discussion.

this was worth mentioning tho: What most people think of as "lower abdominal" exercises are usually actually working the hip flexors.


Probably the vast majority can do crunches all day but only so many leg lifts. but if you do leg lifts first, your going to notice that you tire faster in your crunches, which makes for a quicker, more effective workout in my opinion.

aldousmom

Have you had children? Sometimes a pregnancy (and other things, too, I think...) can cause diastasis recti that makes getting rid of a pooch a little more difficult. It can be done, though, but not through the usual crunches, sit ups, etc.

definition: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002569/

through a simple google search you can find how to test yourself for this, and what to do to get back on track. Good luck!