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striving for flat abs
hi! im 19 years old and over the past year i've lost about 55lbs. i did that by doing pilates and eating better. but now i've plateaued at 165lbs. my trouble spot is my lower abs. i can feel my abs under my fat, but it's been really difficult to shed that weight. i seem to not be able to lose the last 20 lbs. can anyone give me good tips to burn lower belly fat?
Fat is fat no matter where it is on your body. You can strengthen the muscles underneath but the truth is that you have to burn that fat off for it to be flat.
There's no specific exercise to target fat in any certain area. Just keep eating right and exercising. I've found that if I cut back on bread and sugars that I tend to retain less water around my midsection. That doesn't mean do some low-carb gimic, just try to get your carbs from vegetables and fruits rather than breads and pasta.
I agree. I cut back on eating so much cereal which lowered the carb and my stomach did go down some.Originally Posted by sourpuss
Just keep yourself active. Don't allow yourself to sit on the couch for hours a day etc. If you must go somewhere [and it's near] walk, rather than drive. It's simple things like that which help a lot but people take for granted. You can also try different excercises that don't just focus on your ab section. If you're up for it, you can try excercises which focus on your legs, arms, back, etc. The reason you've plateaued is because you've focused on that one area for so long, that it became used to it so now it takes a lot more to get it to start feeling that burn again, which is exactly what you want.. So try running for a while, or anything else.. Then after some time go back to the stomach section so you can 'feel the burn' again.
I hope this helps :]
-[[MissGoddess]]-
First of all let me just say CONGRATULATIONS! You have done an amazing thing and I encourage to keep at it! You will conquer that last 20 but as you know it will take hard work and perseverance..
Expanding on your excercise regime to include cardio at (least 40 mins 5 times a week) as will as continuing your Pilates, which I happen to LOVE! You go girl!
We all hit plateaus and it takes a shake up to get off them. Weight loss comes when we simply burn more calories than we consume. You state you are eating healthfully so simply increase your cardio and be patient with yourself. You'll get there.
Good Luck!
Creativity is the ability to illustrate what is outside the box from within the box.
CONGRATS on your major weight loss! That is awesome.
I agree with everyone above. If you can feel your abs then you DO have flat/muscular abs and the only way you'll see them is to keep doing cardio to shed excess fat above them.
One way I did this was by the Zone diet. You can grab up the book at any bookstore and the ''diet'' doesn't cost more than your normal food intake would. It just teaches you how to fuel your body.
Congrats!! All I can tell you is cardio, cardio and more cardio. Start out with walking a few times a week for a few months then kick it up to jogging or running. You will need to switch every few weeks between walking and running as your body gets used to the same repeated exercises so you need to be willing to change it up a bit. I have been a runner since elementary school and when I got into a car accident I wasn't really able to do anything for about a year - boy did I put on the pounds, but getting back to walking and then running again has shed everything and it's the only thing that is good for burning total body fat. Take care and good luck!
Your doing great keep it up dont give up, i agree you should try to strengthing other areas and that part will go down to, if u wanted to spend any $ i will honestly tell u i did buy an ab lounge and it helped me with my fat tummy i used that while jogging and eatin beter and wow it was great (in a nother post i had told this also i had gone through a point were i gave up and sold it and now i want it back as it helped, it also stretched my back out and your up off the floor and did not hurt my back or neck.)
gbu
GodsAngelBaby
Re: striving for flat abs
Go to a Pilates class. It's great for abdominals and if you want to focus on a certain area, your instructor will explain how to best achieve it. I also take a class called CardioBarre and it's effective for just getting a full workout.
Some recommended exercises
Here are some recommended exercises for older women abs:
1) Crunches alongwith Rotation
For the upper women abs, crunching with rotation is a good exercise. Adding rotation targets the oblique. If these exercises are performed properly they are easy. Don’t add free weight or stability ball while doing these exercises as it will make things quite difficult for you. Lie back, keep your knees bent and put your hands behind ears. Relax the neck, shoulders and upper area. Push your back to the floor and breathe out. Slowly crunch up until the shoulder clear the floor. Twist towards right and twist back to center while lowering yourself to the floor slowly, as you breath in. Now crunch back upwards and this time twist towards the left side. Go back to the floor and start again with 5 reps each side with exchange. Do two sets of 12 reps.
2) Planks
Planks strengthen your upper body part and abdomen. There are some customized versions of this exercise which are less tough on wrists and shoulders. Lie back on the stomach and bring forearms under your chest together. Grip your both hands and push up so that your body rests on your toes and forearms. Don’t raise your hips higher than shoulders and also don’t let your body to swing backwards. Your upper body must be above your arms. Grasp your abs & gluts and hold yourself. Don’t forget to breathe. Keep this position as long as you can and go up to sixty seconds.
3) Reverse Crunches
Reverse crunches relate to lower abs. While doing this exercise, lie on the back while knees are bent, keeping your feet flat on floor, arms on the sides while flatting your lower back. Now raise your knees above your hips. Just keep them bent. Now lower legs towards floor but keep your back as much flat as possible. Breath out as you lower the legs and breathe in as you raise them back up. Do this ten to twelve times and in 2 sets. If you find it difficult then lower only one leg at a time.
Hope you like these exercises. I will be back with more.
Last edited by sourpuss; 04-29-2010 at 11:19 PM. Reason: WH does not allow outbound links
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