When it comes to a trim waist minus muffin top, love handles and bulges, I’ve seen it all in my 18 years in the industry. Sadly, most of “it” is ineffective exercises which waste time , moves which damage cervical and lumbar discs and still don’t produce the look you want and worst of all, exercises which will actually make your waist BIGGER.
In the end, “toning” or achieving ripped abs has been and will always come down to 3 things . This article covers effective exercise. You can search the site for “How To Fix A Slow Metabolism” and “How To Lose Belly Fat in 7 Easy Steps” for information on the other two.
Yes, those are my 46 year old abs and yes, I follow my own advice.
- Genetics to a degree (are you an apple or a pear?)
- EFFECTIVE exercises
- Reduced body fatHere is the list of the biggest offenders I’ve seen and what you can do to replace them and FINALLY get the flat, toned stomach you deserve !The Waste of Time Exercise: Broomstick Twists
Touted as a way to “target obliques” and “trim” the waist, this exercise is not only a worthless waste of time but put your lower discs in a very dangerous position when done seated. I honestly cannot believe people still do these.
Yes, I know, the woman with the teeny, tiny waist and the banging body and the guy with the ripped abs who do them so they must work, right? I won’t bore you with all of the science and physiology of muscle movements but, just think about it. Twisting from side to side to “tone” a muscle? Really?
Do Instead:
Plank
Ball Rolls
The Dangerous Exercise:
Crunches and Weighted Sit-ups – These are a favorite among the body building set in an effort to develop their “6 packs”.
Aside from sit ups in general being an ineffective way to work your abdominals , any movement where you bend forward at your waist can cause a herniated disc especially if you have overdeveloped your abdominals commensurate to your low back muscles.Yes, that includes anything from weighted crunch machines to tying your shoes.
Do instead:
Pilates Teasers
Reverse Crunch
The Ab Exercise That Makes Your Waist Bigger: Weighted Side Bends
Another exercise touted to “trim” the love handles and muffin tops but does exactly the opposite. When muscles are worked to failure, (even with high reps), they grow. The obliqe muscles grow outword therefore, when you do weighted side bends, you are making your waist (and love handles) bigger thicker. If you are doing a gazillion reps with no weight because you think they are going to burn fat and “tone” the area, think again. A trim waist comes from effective core training and reduced body fat.
Do Instead:
Hill Climbers
Burpees
You can find pictures and descriptions of all of the “do instead” exercises in this post on my blog Fat Loss University here: http://custombodies.blogspot.com/2014/06/if-you-want-to-make-your-waist-bigger.html
Article written by Dianne Villano, an MExPhys, NASM CFT , author of “How To Lose Fat & Reshape Your Body in 21 Days” and “The Ultimate Belly Blast Program”. She is president of Custom Bodies and has been serving the Tampa Bay with cutting edge nutrition & fitness programs for 18 years. Miss Villano is a frequent speaker on health and fitness related topics with articles published in over 20 media outlets. You can grab a copy of herSpecial Report “22 Big Fat Lies Keeping You from The Body You Want” at http://mypersonalfitnesscoach.com/fitness-freebies.html
Author: Dianne Villano
Dianne Villano is an MExPhys, NASM CFT , author of “How To Lose Fat & Reshape Your Body in 21 Days” and “The Ultimate Belly Blast Program”. She is president of Custom Bodies which has been serving the Tampa Bay with cutting edge nutrition & fitness programs for 18 years. Miss Villano is a frequent speaker on health and fitness related topics with articles published in over 20 media outlets.
