Ladies - Four Ways To A Trim Tummy!

November 16, 2008 | By Ned Dagostino In Fitness |

by Ned Dagostino

Ladies! Here are four simple ways to a trim tummy! These are real simple but effective exercises which you all can do in absolute safety.

To get the most benefit from these great exercises you’ll have to understand a bit of physiology first! The abdomen gets it shape, that is, taut or flabby, from a triple-layer of muscles: the rectus abdominis (on the surface), the obliques (in the middle), and the transversis abdominis (innermost).

When you tone the innermost layer of muscles, the transverse muscles, you also tone the pelvic floor muscles which lend support to the other abdominal organs. This is especially good for ladies who are having, or have just had, a baby. Kegel exercises are recommended for this very situation. Unfortunately most of you do not practice these exercises properly, and so they lose their effectiveness.

The lesson in physiology being over, let’s get started on these real simple, effective and safe set of four exercises.

Abdominal Respiration

That’s right! You breathe and you exercise. Be seated for this exercise. Use your diaphragm, the sheet of muscle between the thoracic cavity and the abdominal cavity, to take a nice comfortably deep breath! Force your diaphragm downwards. Do not use your chest, or your upper body to help in breathing. Breathe out after a moment. Use your abdominal muscles and your diaphragm and the muscles of the pelvic floor to force all the residual air out of your lungs. Find ways of doing this five to ten times a day.

Belly Respiration: Connecting back to front

Lie on the floor, flat on your back. Hold the back of your legs, bend your elbows outwards. You can only use the abdominal muscles, the muscles of the pelvic floor and the diaphragm in this exercise. Breathe in as before. When you exhale, try to draw in the abdominal muscles downwards as if attempting to make them touch the spine.

Baby Curls

Lie flat on your back. Use your abdominal muscles to come up into a curved position, curling yourself forward. Take care not to use any other muscle as you do this crunch. Repeat this as many times as you can without discomfort. Stop whenever you feel discomfort. If you think that your muscles can’t take the stress, then go back to the breath exercises to build up your muscle tone first.

Side Jacks

Lateral lifts are performed sideways. These tone up the middle layer of abdominal muscles, the obliques. All you ladies will benefit from these lifts, even those of you who are carrying a baby until, of course, your belly becomes too heavy! Lie sideways on the floor. Now lift yourself off the floor with your elbow on the floor and your forearm lying along the floor. The important thing is that your body should be absolutely ramrod straight! Don’t let it sag in the middle! That’s it! That’s it! Hold it there for ten to fifteen seconds. Relax. Then roll over on to your other side. Repeat the exercise. Now do you see why this is called a Lateral Lift?

These four exercises are very straightforward, safe, simple, and effective to boot. The secret to getting your tummy into shape is consistency. Try to do these exercises everyday as part of your daily routine. Caution: If you feel uncomfortable or distressed whil3 doing these exercises, please stop exercising at once!

About the Author:

To speed up the process of developing a flat stomach, you need to look into buying some abdominal exercise equipment. And adding an exercise trampoline will help you lose weight as you firm your midsection. To learn more about exercises for women go to www.abdominal-and-thigh-exercises.com.