Ladies - Trim Your Tummy!
So you want a nice abdominal profile? Don’t worry ladies! Here are some simple and effective techniques that’ll help you get that great shape you’ve always wanted!
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.
Advanced Breath Exercise
This is an extension of your basic Belly Respiration. This exercise is performed lying on the floor. Keep your elbows pointed outwards while you hold the back of your legs. Now draw a breath using the basic Belly Respiration technique, but this time imagine that your belly button has to touch your spine.
Baby Curls
Lie on your back. Draw yourself upward and forward using your belly muscles. This is called a crunch. Do not use the muscles of the upper body to move up. Resist the urge to pull yourself forward using the muscles of your neck and head. Let your spine curve forward easily. Repeat the exercise. Be comfortable while doing this exercise (and any other exercise, for that matter). If your belly begins to tent, with a peak in the middle, stop. That means that you are putting too much effort into the crunch. Tone up your muscles with the Belly Respiration exercises, and then try this one. Your belly should be flat when you do these Soft Crunches.
Elbow Lifts
Lie on your right side. Jack your body off the floor pushing against the floor with your right elbow. The body should be rigid, like a pole inclined to the floor. Practice this until you can hold this pose for ten to fifteen seconds. Now repeat the exercise, lying on your left side.
There’s no need to do dozens of sit-ups, these four exercises will get all you ladies into shape. Just remember two things: Don’t overdo it! Be regular in exercising! See you soon in those jeans that you thought you’d never be able to fit into again!