Working out your stomach muscles will help tone your waist and midsection, but there are even more important reasons to add core exercises to your fitness routine. According to the Mayo Clinic, a strong core makes all body movements easier and improves your overall balance, stability and posture. For best results, combine key stomach and abdominal exercises with aerobics to stimulate fat loss.
Power Plank
Rather than repeating spot exercises such as sit ups, experts recommend stomach exercises such as the plank that work multiple muscle groups at once and rapidly strengthen your whole core. According to the Daily Mail, start a plank pose on your elbows and knees and lock your hands together. Then straighten your legs and lift your body, supporting it with your forearms and the balls of your feet only. Keep your stomach down and tucked in, and hold the pose for as long as you can. Build up strength by doing the plank daily, and couple it with weekly sessions of jogging or brisk walking to get in valuable cardio activity.
Ab Crunches
Crunches are highly effective at toning your abdominal muscles, and you can do them on a daily basis without straining your body. To do a crunch, lie with your back and feet flat on the floor and your knees bent. Then place your fingertips behind your ears, sticking your elbows out to the sides, and use your stomach muscles to raise your upper body a few inches off the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles as you hold the pose and slowly lower yourself back down before repeating it. To show off the toned abdominal muscles that crunches will help you get, flatten your stomach with aerobics, which will burn off fat in your midsection. Try several weekly 45-minute jogging, swimming or biking sessions.
Yoga Routine
Yoga poses improve your entire body's flexibility but are specifically beneficial to the stomach muscles, since all deep breathing for poses and movements originates from the core. Do several weekly 30 to 60 minute yoga sessions and supplement them with fat-burning cardio activities. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that healthy adults get a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 60 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity weekly. Brisk walking can elevate your heart rate enough to count as a cardiovascular activity, so try taking a two-mile walk each morning in conjunction with your yoga or walking to errands and destinations instead of driving.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Belly Fat in Women - How to Keep It Off
- CNN: Core Exercises - Beyond Your Average Abs Routine
- American College of Sports Medicine: Physical Activity and Public Health Guidelines
- Mayo Clinic: Core Exercises - 7 Reasons to Strengthen Your Core Muscles
- Daily Mail: How to Do the Perfect Plank Exercise
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