excercises for stomache area without laying on back

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mom2my4boys
mom2my4boys Posts: 148 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi Everyone,
First i'll give you a little background. I started my weight loss in early June of this year. SW 275 lbs. CW 231 lbs. I would say the first 30-35lbs came off very quickly, mostly just by paying attention to what I was eating. (before I discovered MFP) I have a rare joint disease that causes lots of pain, so I started doing the elliptical at my gym.(thinking it's low impact) My routine was 5k/M-F = 45 minutes.(I have since added 5 mins to elliptical and 10 mins biking, to make 60mins cardio) So, I have lost a few inches off my lower half. To me, i'm starting to look quite a bit better on the bottom half and feeling much better! However, my stomach looks way, way worse then when I started. (imagine a deflated tire) I've had 4 kids (including a twin pregnancy) and had C-sections with all of them. I have tried doing sit-ups but can't. Between not really being able to get "up" and my back in searing pain, i'm kind of at a loss what to do. So my question is are there other exercises for this area that I can do that don't involve laying on my back? Thanks in advance for your responses :) Sherri

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Planks...Crunches (not full situps), side planks for obliques, there is a gamet of ab exercises out there.

    Not sure if your condition allows you to lift weights but that has made my belly shrink up as well.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    As stated before Planks are good, as well as compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, etc...) If it's about "how your midsection looks", there is no exercise that will spot reduce or spot "tone" the area.

    A smaller midsection comes from overall loss of BF%. You can do 10,000 crunches a day, but if your body has fat stored in other areas that it wants to use before midsection fat, it will. Your smaller midsection will come from:

    Diet (caloric deficit) + Work (cardio and compound strength) + patience (as the midsection is usually the last to go)

    You can gain a smaller midsection with only 1&3, but may not like the results as much without the work.

    One thing you will notice about individuals on this site with nice midsections; they actually do very little or no isolated ab work.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    As stated before Planks are good, as well as compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, etc...) If it's about "how your midsection looks", there is no exercise that will spot reduce or spot "tone" the area.

    A smaller midsection comes from overall loss of BF%. You can do 10,000 crunches a day, but if your body has fat stored in other areas that it wants to use before midsection fat, it will. Your smaller midsection will come from:

    Diet (caloric deficit) + Work (cardio and compound strength) + patience (as the midsection is usually the last to go)

    You can gain a smaller midsection with only 1&3, but may not like the results as much without the work.

    One thing you will notice about individuals on this site with nice midsections; they actually do very little or no isolated ab work.

    thank god- saved me the typing.
  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
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    Planks...Crunches (not full situps), side planks for obliques, there is a gamet of ab exercises out there.

    Not sure if your condition allows you to lift weights but that has made my belly shrink up as well.

    She has to lay on her back for a lot of those.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Options
    As stated before Planks are good, as well as compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, etc...) If it's about "how your midsection looks", there is no exercise that will spot reduce or spot "tone" the area.

    A smaller midsection comes from overall loss of BF%. You can do 10,000 crunches a day, but if your body has fat stored in other areas that it wants to use before midsection fat, it will. Your smaller midsection will come from:

    Diet (caloric deficit) + Work (cardio and compound strength) + patience (as the midsection is usually the last to go)

    You can gain a smaller midsection with only 1&3, but may not like the results as much without the work.

    One thing you will notice about individuals on this site with nice midsections; they actually do very little or no isolated ab work.

    thank god- saved me the typing.

    I have this one on copy-paste, speed dial.
  • mom2my4boys
    mom2my4boys Posts: 148 Member
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    Yeah, crunches are out as is anything that requires laying on my back.I take regular high doses of T3's and my back still hurts to lay on it. But thanks for the suggestion of planks, side planks and patience :) i tried doing the chest/upper back machines and they also cause alot of pain.(not something i could work through) I saw kettle bell swings suggested somewheres. Is that front to back or side to side? What weight would you suggest starting with? (Feeling very dumb) My doctor has told me that I need to lose weight and that there's a good possibility that I'll be wheelchair bound by my forth or fifth decade. I'm 32 now and averaging 5-6k now slow jogging, so that's better then sitting on the couch, right? :) thanks again, I'll keep plugging away and hopefully in another 4 months it will look better.
  • sunglasses_and_ocean_waves
    sunglasses_and_ocean_waves Posts: 2,757 Member
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    dance. move your hips. keep your abs tight.
  • mom2my4boys
    mom2my4boys Posts: 148 Member
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    Great idea! I love me some rap! *goes off in search of rap music to dance too.
  • debra6590
    debra6590 Posts: 25 Member
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    Check that you don't have a diastatis recti before doing any crunch work - this will only make it worse and your back pai n worse. I would guess that this is your issue. To close a seperated abdomen (DR) you need a specialised workout try MUTU (Mummy Tummy) System. I had a four finger gap and after a few months I have a 1 finger gap. Many women do not realise after preganncy/c-sections this can happen and you need to fix your core stability. Google it. It works.

    I will never be doing crunches again - cos it will split it again but then there is more to life than a crunch and more ways to get your flat stomach back than a crunch.

    Good luck x
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Ye My doctor has told me that I need to lose weight and that there's a good possibility that I'll be wheelchair bound by my forth or fifth decade.


    weight mostly a function of diet- not exercise- invest more time into fixing your food situation. Moving more helps- but really fixing your diet will do more for you than fancy workouts.
  • frommetobetterme
    frommetobetterme Posts: 124 Member
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    As others said, belly exercises won't spot reduce, but if you want to strengthen your core, there is a lot you can do. Here are some examples of exercises I've done to help with my core muscles (I have SI joint dysfunction). I find kettle bell swings a bit difficult on my hips and back, but you can use them instead of a medicine ball if that's what you have on hand. There might be more kettlebell exercises that don't require swinging.

    1. Sitting down, pick up something heavy (like a medicine ball, or something easy to handle that's around the house). Lean back ever so slightly and move the ball (object) from one side to the other, touching the ground each time.

    2. Lie on your belly (not sure if you can do that comfortably) and lift one arm and opposite leg, doesn't need to be by much, but it will help your back get stronger as well as your belly and legs. You can eventually move to lifting all of your limbs at once.

    3. To stretch our and ease discomfort, do the 'cat' and 'cow' poses from yoga if you can.

    4. You can also do exercise 2 on your hands and knees for a greater challenge (not with all 4 limbs at once obviously :p)

    That's all I can think of right now, but I am sure that you could find many more. Have you seen a physiotherapist about your issues? That would probably help.
  • cherryrobot
    cherryrobot Posts: 64 Member
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    What about hanging from a pull up bar and using your core to lift your knees to your chest?

    I am not sure if that is supposed to tone abs, but my abs kill me when I do those.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    What about hanging from a pull up bar and using your core to lift your knees to your chest?

    I am not sure if that is supposed to tone abs, but my abs kill me when I do those.

    Ab isolation exercises don't "tone" abs. Also, leg/knee lifts can actually fire the hip flexors not the abs. It feels like the abs, when really the hip flexors are doing the work.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    What about hanging from a pull up bar and using your core to lift your knees to your chest?

    I am not sure if that is supposed to tone abs, but my abs kill me when I do those.

    Ab isolation exercises don't "tone" abs. Also, leg/knee lifts can actually fire the hip flexors not the abs. It feels like the abs, when really the hip flexors are doing the work.

    would keeping the legs straight and bringing the legs just straight out in front of you be better?
  • Siobhan108
    Siobhan108 Posts: 80 Member
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    I too have a bad back and can not do anything that I have to get on it. I use the pool. Does your gym have one ? I use a water noodle and rest my arms ( back to noodle ) over it. I them put my feet together and rise my knees to my chest. First to the center then to each side, twisting my lower body . It might work for you. Check out web sites for pool exercises if you have access to a pool.
  • FizikallyFit
    FizikallyFit Posts: 180 Member
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    There are lots of standing exercises you can do for your abs. fitnessblender.com has some videos on youtube for free
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Options
    What about hanging from a pull up bar and using your core to lift your knees to your chest?

    I am not sure if that is supposed to tone abs, but my abs kill me when I do those.

    Ab isolation exercises don't "tone" abs. Also, leg/knee lifts can actually fire the hip flexors not the abs. It feels like the abs, when really the hip flexors are doing the work.

    would keeping the legs straight and bringing the legs just straight out in front of you be better?

    From what I understand...same thing.

    The hip flexors are doing the work of getting your legs moving upward.
  • arcticfox04
    arcticfox04 Posts: 1,011 Member
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    Kettlebell figure 8 is a good exercise. I do this after I finish a shoulder set since it works both muscle groups.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/kettlebell-figure-8
  • cherryrobot
    cherryrobot Posts: 64 Member
    Options
    What about hanging from a pull up bar and using your core to lift your knees to your chest?

    I am not sure if that is supposed to tone abs, but my abs kill me when I do those.

    Ab isolation exercises don't "tone" abs. Also, leg/knee lifts can actually fire the hip flexors not the abs. It feels like the abs, when really the hip flexors are doing the work.

    would keeping the legs straight and bringing the legs just straight out in front of you be better?

    From what I understand...same thing.

    The hip flexors are doing the work of getting your legs moving upward.

    Clearly I am not an exercise expert ... I do things and whatever is sore I assume that is the muscle getting worked out LOL

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