Best exercise for toning abs
711lucia
Posts: 11
Hi there,
I need some advice. I have been doing so well with my weight loss and exercise. However, it seems like my tummy never tones up. I have 5cm's to lose and never seem to see any progress.
I do have a sever back injury - so sit ups, weights etc is totally out of the question.
Any suggestions as to what I can do to tone the stomach muscles. I hear water jogging is good, apart from getting fitter, will it tone my stomach muscles too? :sad:
Hope to hear from someone soon, before I throw in the towel.
:noway:
I need some advice. I have been doing so well with my weight loss and exercise. However, it seems like my tummy never tones up. I have 5cm's to lose and never seem to see any progress.
I do have a sever back injury - so sit ups, weights etc is totally out of the question.
Any suggestions as to what I can do to tone the stomach muscles. I hear water jogging is good, apart from getting fitter, will it tone my stomach muscles too? :sad:
Hope to hear from someone soon, before I throw in the towel.
:noway:
0
Replies
-
I'm interested to know this too.
My stomach has gotten a lot smaller but it needs some serious toning!0 -
There is no exercise that will cause you to lose fat around your stomach (or any other specific area)
The only thing that causes your stomach to appear toned is a very low body fat level, which you get by losing fat from all over your body.0 -
0
-
Abs are carved in the kitchen.0
-
I read on a post here a while back that apparently it is 60% diet and 40% exercise.0
-
Preparing green vegetables seems to do it.0
-
There is no exercise that will cause you to lose fat around your stomach (or any other specific area)
The only thing that causes your stomach to appear toned is a very low body fat level, which you get by losing fat from all over your body.
this!0 -
Preparing green vegetables seems to do it.
i hope you logged that to get your exercise calories0 -
Deadlifts!0
-
Hi, I too have a back problem, and while I know you can't spot reduce, I have found that after losing about 14lbs my tummy was smaller, and my abs are peeking through the fat that is left! So. I have found that bodyweight squats are fine and don't aggravate the back, and, done properly, they strengthen the core and you can really feel it working lots of muscles, including those longed-for tummy muscles. A strong core will really help you look after your back too.0
-
There is no exercise that will cause you to lose fat around your stomach (or any other specific area)
The only thing that causes your stomach to appear toned is a very low body fat level, which you get by losing fat from all over your body.
This.0 -
Thank you. I'll take this into account.
:glasses:0 -
Preparing green vegetables seems to do it.
agreed0 -
Hula hooping is low impact and tones the whole core. Fab for burning calories too.0
-
There is no exercise that will cause you to lose fat around your stomach (or any other specific area)
The only thing that causes your stomach to appear toned is a very low body fat level, which you get by losing fat from all over your body.
this!
Another vote for this.0 -
There is no exercise that will cause you to lose fat around your stomach (or any other specific area)
The only thing that causes your stomach to appear toned is a very low body fat level, which you get by losing fat from all over your body.
this!
Another vote for this.
I 3rd!0 -
There is no exercise that will cause you to lose fat around your stomach (or any other specific area)
The only thing that causes your stomach to appear toned is a very low body fat level, which you get by losing fat from all over your body.
Once again, this.
I'm sick of the amount of times I've heard women say they want to tone their abs. It means absolutely nothing. Your skin is an organ, you can't lose fat from one area only. Also, doing sit-ups makes no different if your stomach is covered with a layer of flab.0 -
Pilates is wonderful, and very easy/good on the back. Try Rael Pilates system. It starts you with 7 basic moves, and progresses you up to 27 strengthening moves.0
-
Burn more cals than you eat
Add some cardio
Planks/Pushups
Kettlebell exercises
This is what works best for my body.0 -
I read on a post here a while back that apparently it is 60% diet and 40% exercise.
More like 80% diet... They are definitely made in the kitchen.. That is my weakness. I love to eat. So while the rest of me is looking good, and even my abs look better, they are not as 'toned' as I'd like. Eat well, exercise and you will see results0 -
Pilates is wonderful, and very easy/good on the back. Try Rael Pilates system. It starts you with 7 basic moves, and progresses you up to 27 strengthening moves.
Yes Pilates too!!! I love pilates!0 -
I don't really gain weight in my midsection, I always gain it in my thighs/butt. But I will say that since I severely cut my refined carb intake, my stomach got a lot slimmer and any fat on my abs just seems to be melting off (I'm also assuming that since I don't gain weight in my stomach anyway, the fat there comes off a bit easier for me than other parts of my body). The other posters are right in that it is your DIET that will do most of the talking with this one. You can do pilates/crunches/cardio til the cows come home but nothing will spot reduce the fat on your stomach. The best way to lose overall body fat is to eat at a deficit and depending on how your body handles certain foods, clean up your diet. You will only start to look more 'toned' after overall body fat % is down. There is no other way.0
-
There is no exercise that will cause you to lose fat around your stomach (or any other specific area)
The only thing that causes your stomach to appear toned is a very low body fat level, which you get by losing fat from all over your body.
Exactly!!! You can loss the fat off your stomach by doing crunches or anything abs are made in the kitchen!!0 -
As others have said...
1) You need to lose body fat to expose the muscle. That happens with diet.
2) You also need to build/strengthen the muscles. Things like squats, single leg deadlifts, weighted lunges are great exercise, but they won't do a damn thing if the muscles are covered in fat (see my first point).0 -
There is no "best exercise" for toning your tummy. Having a toned "anything" involves two things:
1. Having an abundant amount of muscle
2. Having a very low amount of fat covering it.
For #1, the stomach/core is one of the easiest places to build muscle. It's so easy in fact that you don't even need to do any exercises to target it. Why? Because assuming the training program you're following is even halfway decent, your core is already getting the hell worked out of it when you do exercises that primarily target other body parts. If the training program you're following revolves primarily around isolation exercises, however (exercises that work a single body part at a time, basically) then you're kind of screwing yourself over because it's highly inefficient and misses a lot of key muscle groups.
#2 is where things get hard. Because there is absolutely NOTHING you can do to control how quickly the fat on your tummy burns away in comparison to any other part of your body. And, in many cases, it is the LAST place fat will disappear from. So the only thing you can do is work toward continued fat loss.0 -
Lower your body fat and you'll discover those beautiful abs underneath!
In addition to other people's comments, I want to mention that running really helped my stomach muscles.0 -
Core training. Everyone needs it. Working your muscles and doing cardo are all great excersises and diet only does so much but core training, strengths stomach muscles. back muscles and hip flexers.0
-
having a messed up back limits your exercise options because your back is the other half of your "core," as the abdominal muscles and lower back work in concert to stabilize your torso. So anything that works really well for your ab muscles will also be an effort of some kind for your back. Is rehabbing your back not an option?
You can diet away forever and still never get a visibly defined abdominal area due to a lack of muscle to "show." I dieted down from 250 to 168 before I realized that I was just getting "skinny fat," and then realized that I had catabolized most of the muscle that I had by failing to do any resistance work to support muscle retention. If you can't build or at least preserve muscle, it's very hard to get a lean look regardless of what your scale says.0 -
Once the body fat has lowered enough, a strong core is the best way for those of us with back issues. I'm working on avoiding back surgery at this point after having 4 herniated discs in half as many years. I find planks and pushups to be really helpful. Anything Pilates related is going to be awesome and typically isn't too stressful on your back. Once you get your core up to speed, you may find your back problems are diminished as well because those core muscles can really help keep your spine in check!0
-
As others have said...
1) You need to lose body fat to expose the muscle. That happens with diet.
2) You also need to build/strengthen the muscles. Things like squats, single leg deadlifts, weighted lunges are great exercise, but they won't do a damn thing if the muscles are covered in fat (see my first point).
This seems like a balanced answer. I'm glad to hear it--I can do most of these without a barbell set. Thanks!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions