Forty ways to flat abs (II)

Whether you like it or not, regular exercise of the right sort is a necessary way to keep trim and that includes your abdominal muscles. For people who hate crunches and sit-ups, the good news is that whatever part of the body you are exercising, it has a positive effect on our abs since every part of our body is dependent on the other.

18. Morning cardio training. This means going for a run or a light jog for 40 minutes first thing in the morning before breakfast. Because your stomach is empty, your muscle and blood sugar source, glycogen, is at its lowest level, which means the body uses fat as energy instead of glycogen.

19. Stretch the abdominals. Stand in front of a mirror and stretch your left arm down your side as far as it will go and back again with rapid, flowing movements. Do the same with the right arm. Then switch to the front, crossing your arms in front of each other as you stretch each arm to the opposite side of the body. Move your arms to the back and do the same thing. About 50 swift repetitions to the side, front and back, and you should start to see some improvement in a month.

20. Hanging abdominal stretch. Grab an overhead hanging bar at the gym that is about a foot higher than you, and swing from it. Keep your legs together and twist your body from side to side. Get someone to stand near you when you first try this.  

21. Obliques -- weighted side bend. The oblique muscles form the “frame” of the abdominal muscles. Disguise your little pot belly by improving your obliques. Stand straight and with the smallest of dumb bells, stretch your arm down along one side as far as it will go and then up again. Do not use weights that are too heavy as this will “over build” the oblique muscles and make your waist look thicker.

22. Turntable. If the gym has a revolving turntable, these are great for working the sides of the abs. Stand on the turntable gripping the handles and facing forward. Then, keeping your trunk facing forward, swivel the bottom part of your body from right to left. Don't work too quickly at first so as not to pull a back muscle.

23. The “bicycle.” Lie down on the floor and pretend you are riding an imaginary bicycle upside down. Keep the movement going by bringing the left knee up to your chest and touching it with your right elbow and vice versa.

24. Superman. This one requires strong core muscles. It is not for beginners. Lie down on the floor with your arms stretched out in front of you as if you are flying. Lift your head and legs off the floor as if you are flying through space like Superman and hold for as long as you can.

25. Plank. Lie on the floor and then support yourself on your elbows with the forearms on the floor and hands clasped in front. Now lift yourself off the floor with your toes and suck in your stomach so that your body forms a bridge. Hold for as long as possible.

26. Abdominal hip thrust. Lie on the floor and lay your arms along the floor at either side with palms facing the floor. Now pull your whole body upwards as if you were going to do a shoulder stand. Thrust your hip to the ceiling in a vertical direction and then lower. Repeat several times.

27. The scissors. Sit on the edge of a bench. Leaning slightly backwards and keeping your back straight, put your legs together and bend your knees. Put your arms together in front of you and bend your elbows. Then pull your bent legs upwards so that the knees touch the elbows and straighten your legs as you pull away. Keep the scissor movement going and do not release the tension in your muscles all the time you are working.

28. Leg pull in. Sit or lie on a bench tilting downwards at an approximately 30 degree angle. Bend your knees and bring your legs up to your chest and then straighten legs. Repeat about 30 times for each set.

29. Leg raises. Lie on a slightly tilted bench and keeping legs together and straight, move the legs upwards and downwards. Do not bend your legs to get maximum use of the upper abs.

30. The Swiss ball. Most gyms have at least one large, inflated balloon-type ball. Some gyms have more than one and various sizes. Grab one that is the height of a low stool and sit on it, making sure you are well balanced. Now lean back so that you are lying flat on the ball, and bending your elbows, touch each side of your head with your fingers. Now sit up and then lie down again so that you can feel your ab muscles working.

31. Pendulum. Lie down and keep arms flat on the floor at each side. Then with your legs together, raise them in the air at a 90 degree angle and point the bottom half of your body as close to the floor as you can.

Part four -- dressing right

It is amazing how the right clothes can disguise or draw attention away from our worst parts. People approach their figure faults in all sorts of ways; some blithely ignore their pot belly or large behind and wear tight clothes that attract all the wrong sorts of looks. Others do the opposite and wear clothes that make them look like walking tents. The first basic rule is not to buy clothes in a size (or even two sizes) too small in the hope that you will “diet into” them. You never do.

If you have a choice between a garment which is slightly too large or slightly too small, opt for the larger one. You are much more likely to get use out of it now, which is, after all, when you are buying it. By the time you diet into it, the fashions will have surely changed.

32. Avoid hipster jeans or trousers. Nothing looks worse than trousers where the waistband ends by digging into your fat and causing “overhang.” Instead, choose jeans with a waistband slightly below the waist.

33. Avoid tightly fitting jeans or trousers. They will outline your worst parts.

34. Choose unstructured trousers with wide legs. These skim across your belly, masking it and making it look graceful.

35. Choose a material like linen. These materials do not cling to your tummy.

36. Choose long trousers. Anything that makes the legs look longer makes the stomach look smaller by comparison.

37. Avoid short or knee-length skirts. They will draw attention to your belly, especially a pencil skirt.

38. Go for long flowing skirts with a waistband. This will flow over your worst parts -- your tummy -- and accentuate your, hopefully, small or smaller waist.

39. Don't wear tight support briefs. Those special “support” pants that purport to flatten your stomach flatten your stomach but then push the fat upwards under you rib cage.

40. Choose a blouse or top which does not cling to your stomach. A wide or loose top is ideal, and choose one that goes over the waist to the mid-hip area, preferably flared out toward the bottom.

Colors are another dilemma. Some overweight people live in black, and it really does nothing other than make them look like giant Goths. Anyway, black looks bad on people with darker or olive complexions, and if you must wear black, wear a black suit with a crisp white blouse close to the skin. This is slimming as it breaks up the black and looks fresh and groomed. Navy or dark burgundy is more flattering than black. Blondes look good in browns and tans.

Women can wear colorful beads or costume jewelry to draw attention to the neck and face. There are all sorts of ways to look good even if you have weight to lose, and having a little extra weight is no reason to become a frump.

I hope these tips have given you some good ideas, and do not forget to send any to me if you have them.