The abdomen is an area that tends to store excess fat in both men and women. When this weight is lost in a short amount of time, excess skin is often left behind as a reminder. Although losing weight has reduced your disease risk, you still may feel self-conscious because of the appearance of loose, sagging skin. The best bet for tightening it up is abdominal exercises. Building up your underlying abdominal muscles will give your skin a tighter appearance.
Step 1
Fasten ankle weights to your lower legs and do hanging leg raises. Grasp a pull-up bar with an overhand shoulder-width grip and let your legs hang straight down. Keep your upper body still and raise your legs as high as possible in front of your body. Try to get them at least parallel to the floor. Hold for a full second, slowly lower your legs and repeat.
Step 2
Attach ankle straps to your lower shins to do leg-hip raises. Stand in front of one weight stack on a cable machine and attach the straps to a low setting. Lie flat on your back with your legs out straight and grab the other weight stack behind your head for support. Lift your legs off the floor slightly, tuck your knees into your chest and lift your hips off the floor in a curling motion. Squeeze your abs forcefully; slowly extend your legs back out and repeat.
Step 3
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart to do Saxon side bends for your obliques. Hold dumbbells straight above your head with a slight bend in your elbows and your palms facing forward. Keep your lower body still as you bend laterally to your left side as far as possible. Rise back up and bend to your right side as far as possible. Alternate back and forth in a steady and controlled motion.
Step 4
Execute a set of bicycle crunches with a medicine ball. Fasten ankle weights to your legs and lie on the floor with the ball held in front of your stomach. Lift your legs and torso off the floor, and move the ball to your right hip as you twist your torso and draw your right knee in toward your chest. Extend your left leg out straight when you do this. Repeat this motion on your left side and continue to alternate back and forth in a steady motion.
Step 5
Kneel on the floor to do barbell rollouts. Place one weight plate on each side of the bar and grasp it with your hands shoulder width apart. Keep your back straight as you push the bar forward and lower your hips toward the floor. Stop when your torso is about parallel to the floor and your arms are extended out in front of you. Roll back up to your starting point in a steady motion and repeat.
Step 6
Lie face-up on a stability ball to do weighed sit-ups. Place your feet flat on the floor and raise your shoulders and head slightly. Hold a weight plate straight above your chest with your arms extended and move your torso forward. Squeeze your abs forcefully for a full second, slowly lower yourself down and repeat.
Tips and Warnings
- Perform 12 to 15 reps and three or four sets of your exercises. Work out three days a week on alternating days.
Things You'll Need
- Pull-up bar
- Ankle weights
- Ankle straps
- Cable machine
- Dumbbells
- Medicine ball
- Barbell
- Weight plates
- Stability ball
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