Best exercise for toning abs

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  • NakedLunchTime
    NakedLunchTime Posts: 559
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    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!
  • carissar7
    carissar7 Posts: 183 Member
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    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.
  • britkip
    britkip Posts: 49
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    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!!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    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).
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    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.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    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.
  • Rlc8478
    Rlc8478 Posts: 6
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    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.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    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.
  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
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    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!
  • JoanB5
    JoanB5 Posts: 610 Member
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    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!
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    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.

    Having a strong core doesn't mean you'll have visible abs.

    My core is incredibly strong, yet there is still fat there. Weight loss will take the fat away.

    My arms and legs are also strong, yet still covered in fat. Most power lifters (who are moving massive amounts of weight) don't have visible body builder type muscles. It's all about the body fat percentage - not the strength.

    (there's nothing wrong with increasing your core strength - you should do it. but don't expect washboard abs from it)
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    Having a strong core doesn't mean you'll have visible abs.

    My core is incredibly strong, yet there is still fat there. Weight loss will take the fat away.

    My arms and legs are also strong, yet still covered in fat. Most power lifters (who are moving massive amounts of weight) don't have visible body builder type muscles. It's all about the body fat percentage - not the strength.

    (there's nothing wrong with increasing your core strength - you should do it. but don't expect washboard abs from it)

    ^ You are not wrong, but if you simply diet away your weight, you will lose muscle along with the fat and still never see your abs. Eating at a deficit while incorporating core work is going to be required. In other words, neither diet nor exercise alone will do the trick.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Having a strong core doesn't mean you'll have visible abs.

    My core is incredibly strong, yet there is still fat there. Weight loss will take the fat away.

    My arms and legs are also strong, yet still covered in fat. Most power lifters (who are moving massive amounts of weight) don't have visible body builder type muscles. It's all about the body fat percentage - not the strength.

    (there's nothing wrong with increasing your core strength - you should do it. but don't expect washboard abs from it)

    ^ You are not wrong, but if you simply diet away your weight, you will lose muscle along with the fat and still never see your abs. Eating at a deficit while incorporating core work is going to be required. In other words, neither diet nor exercise alone will do the trick.

    True. The point isn't that diet alone will do it (for most people). The point is that dedicated core work (for most) isn't necessary. Big compound lifts that require a variety of stabilizing muscles will work the core enough to give some definition once body fat is low enough.

    Most people on MFP that need to lose weight will be better served spending their time with bigger lifts rather than a zillion isolation moves.

    Additionally, these types of exercises along with sufficient protein intake will minimize muscle loss during dieting.
  • 5erious
    5erious Posts: 469
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    If nutrition is on point

    Hanging leg raises
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    The point is that dedicated core work (for most) isn't necessary. Big compound lifts that require a variety of stabilizing muscles will work the core enough to give some definition once body fat is low enough.

    Most people on MFP that need to lose weight will be better served spending their time with bigger lifts rather than a zillion isolation moves.

    Additionally, these types of exercises along with sufficient protein intake will minimize muscle loss during dieting.

    I 100% agree, but the OP stipulated that a severe back injury precluded most compound lifts, which was why my first comment was an attempt to find out if back rehab was possible ;)

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