I need some help with my tummy! *pic included*

hey! Are you doing cardio along with your strength training? Cardio burns more calories and fat than strength training does on its own...try doing it for at least half an hour if you can! If not, you can work your way up good luck!!!

i've been doing a pilates class twice a week for about a year now and i've noticed major differences in my core...just feeling stronger and actually having muscles there when i flex it. so i'm a big believer in pilates!

if you live in a remote area and can't find community classes (i take mine at a small movement and wellness center near my home), i've heard that the windsor pilates series of dvd's is good too. but you have to push yourself. i think i do better in a class setting, because i have to push myself to work as hard as the person next to me :bigsmile: don't wanna look like a wussy!

hope this helps....in addition, my pilates class incorporates planks, bridging, arm weights, ankle weights, stability balls, "bender balls" (which are amazing!!), and resistance bands- which all take the exercises to the next level!

good luck to you kerri and congrats on all your weight loss success! :flowerforyou:

I do reverse crunches/leg lift on this stand in my weight room. I also do plate lift ab workouts in the weight room. PLANKS! Do front and side both.

Leg lifts...lay on back, lift legs slowly together, then back down slowly. Just before reaching the ground spread legs with control then back together again and slowly lift legs in the air. Never letting them touch the ground.

Have you tried the P90X I know there are some amazing results on here in just 4-6 weeks..I have the set myself BUT lol when I watched the banana roll demonstration I decided I needed to take off some more lbs before trying it.....,

I didn't like to hear this the first time I heard it either, but, "Abs are made in the kitchen".

I guess it goes along with "Exercise for fitness, eat less to lose weight."

You're looking great by the way! I hear you, we both have the same problem area :ohwell:

:flowerforyou:

For what it's worth Kerri - and probably not that much! - I think your routine sounds great. I would suspect that it will be a time factor. I would think, with your routine and as you work on adding more running that in another 3 - 6 weeks you will be much happier with your tummy area. It takes awhile for that part to "firm up" unlike arms, legs, etc. I think you will see results with what your doing. You know the what and the how and the why - now just to find the patience - let me know where you find it will ya, I could use some myself :grumble: btw - you look amazing!! Congratulations!

http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises_10.htm

Here's a link for the Planks. They are tough - you can start on elbows and knees and work up to elbows and toes, then hands and toes. Have fun!

those sound great, I am going to add the leg lifts and give them a try for sure! How exactly so you do planks? I'm sorry... I'm dumb, I probably know but maybe don't call them that, can someone explain it?

Here's a link for the plank... http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises_10.htm
It's pretty simple. The longer you hold it, the better the burn is.

Here's a link for the plank... http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises_10.htm
It's pretty simple. The longer you hold it, the better the burn is.

I just looked at this link a little closer, and it's actually part of a list of the top 10 ab exercises. I'm going to check out the other 9 too.

http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises.htm

this web site is great, i suggest switching up your routine every few weeks and you'll be happy with the results in a couple months, but will start seeing a change in a week or two!

planks planks planks!!!!! :flowerforyou:

Ker,

I had the same issue, I guess the only thing I can say is it's mostly there now (so close, I'm starting to see the 6-pack) maybe 3 more months and I'll be there!

What did I do? Besides dropping the weight of course.

Well, All kinds of Ab work, including, bicycle crunches, straight hip raises with leg lift aspects to it, Knee raises, lots of planks (work up to 1 minute at a time), plank variations like diagonal lift planks (opposite hand and foot extended). Weighted crunches (make sure to use correct form!), Oblique exercises (resistance bands are great for crossovers and such).

What you need to remember is, it's not about HOW many, it's about how your stomach feels at the end. Your abs should be burning by the time you are done, if they aren't you either weren't contracting while doing the exercise or you had poor form. Doing 80 crunches doesn't do anything for you if you do them with bad form. Put it this way, I only do about 30 to 40 crunches a day, every other day (along with usually 3 to 4 other ab exercises working different subsets of the core muscle group).

I work 4 days a week on my abs, you don't need much time off for abs, small muscle groups recover much faster, so 1 day off is all you need for most. Ironically I only do about 5 to 7 minutes on abs, because that's really all you need to do. My abs are ROCKS now, I'm doing more weighted stuff though, to increase size a bit.

Maybe this will help, I hope so.

-Banks