No matter your age, you too can sport a flat tummy
By the Health24 team
Trapped under the fatty layer of your belly are three major
abdominal muscle groups, eager to get taut and toned.
With the right exercises and diet, anyone – young or old –
can get a washboard stomach, says biokineticist Pea Blaauw of
Cape Town.
If you do our series of exercises every day you’ll see,
and feel, a difference within a month. Keep up the hard work for
12 weeks, combine it with a healthy diet and your friends will be
impressed with the result.
For a fabulous, flat tummy in 30 days Do two sets of 15 repetitions of four of these abdominal muscle
exercises daily. Vary your choice of exercises so you do at least one set of each every week. The secret is to do
each exercise in a controlled manner and to concentrate on using your stomach muscles to move your upper body.
Remember Exercise goes hand in hand with a healthy diet.
You can tone your arms, flatten your stomach and tighten your
buttocks but if your muscles are covered in a layer of fat, you’ll
still look flabby and shapeless.
- Abdominal curls
Curl your upper body up until
your shoulder blades are off
the ground. It’s a small movement.
Keep your feet flat on the
floor and try not to lift your
head with your hands.
You can
start doing the exercise on the
floor and after a week or two
move on to a big gym ball with
your body horizontal and your
feet flat on the floor.
- Abdominal
Crunches
Use your abdominal muscles
to lift your upper body and
shoulders closer to your legs.
Don’t arch your back as you lift
your upper body.
You can start
by doing the exercise on the
floor and after a week or two
move on to a big gym ball
with your body horizontal
and your feet flat on the floor.
- Boxing exercise
Hold your arms like a boxer
and punch the air as you bring
your upper body into the
crunch. You can punch to the
front, to the side or straight up
into the air with each crunch.
- Oblique crunches
Contract your abdominals and
move your elbow towards
your opposite knee. Hold for
five seconds and lower slowly
to the starting position. Keep
your lower back pressed
against the floor.
- Reverse crunch
Lie on the floor and pull your knees to
your chest. Hold on to something fixed.
Use your abdominal muscles to lift your
buttocks and lower back off the floor.
- Fingers to toes
Keep your arms straight while
you lift your fingers towards
your toes. Move your upper
body towards your knees and
keep your stomach muscles
contracted. Keep your chin
off your chest.
- Russian twist
Hold a small gym ball with
both hands. Rest your shoulders
and neck on a big ball, with
your feet flat and your body
horizontal. Turn your arms
slowly to the left, back to the
middle and then to the right.
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