Thread: suggestions for a friend with a flabby middle?

My friend has a very flabby abdomen. Otherwise she is not in bad shape, it's just her stomach is bigger than the rest of her.
ANy suggestions as to which diet plan, along with exercise of course, would help to get rid of this problem area?

I have the same problem. its more of the bottom of my tummy (below the button) where I carry my weight! does my head in! I used to stay away from bread and wheat and do leg raises where you lay on the floor and keep your legs straight and lift then up about 3 foot from the floor and the lower!

I should have stuck to it! still have a flabby belly

I've heard somewhere (can't for the life of me think where?) that it's the muscles that cross (X) the tummy that pull it in. So an exercise I remember from my past (a Rosemary Conley class) would be good: Lay on your back with legs bent up at the knees and feet about shoulder width apart. Fold your arms across your chest. Keeping your feet flat on the floor lift your upper body and try to touch your right elbow towards your left knee, then down, then left elbow towards right knee, then down. No you won't actually touch elbow to knee... the idea is to try hard. Be carefull to keep your neck straight and NOT tensing to help pull you up... that can hurt you.
I'm sure there will be a better description of this online somewhere if you do a search.
Hope it helps?

Originally Posted by Lesleyfx

I've heard somewhere (can't for the life of me think where?) that it's the muscles that cross (X) the tummy that pull it in. So an exercise I remember from my past (a Rosemary Conley class) would be good: Lay on your back with legs bent up at the knees and feet about shoulder width apart. Fold your arms across your chest. Keeping your feet flat on the floor lift your upper body and try to touch your right elbow towards your left knee, then down, then left elbow towards right knee, then down. No you won't actually touch elbow to knee... the idea is to try hard. Be carefull to keep your neck straight and NOT tensing to help pull you up... that can hurt you.
I'm sure there will be a better description of this online somewhere if you do a search.
Hope it helps?

Yes this is a good one.

I thought the cross situps that you described - are more for the sides of your stomach instead of the bottom? I thought the only way to really work the bottom is to lay down with your legs flat and raise them up straight to work the bottom part of the tummy?

Hiya, you can't target your lower abs any more than you can target your upper abs. It's been shown in studies that the upper and lower rectus abdominis have no measurable difference in response whether you do regular crunches or reverse crunches (i.e. exercises 'targeting' the upper or lower abdominals).

The bicycle is probably the single best move you can do for your abs. Similar to the move Lesleyfx has described actually! Hands behind your head, cycle your legs, opposite elbow to opposite knee. Works the rectus abdominis and the obliques all at once.

Physio once told me that I had to pull in my stomach muscles as if trying to touch my belly button to my spine, breathe and hold for 10 secs. 5 reps at least every couple of hours. She said the deeper corset muscles needed work and the superficial muscles can be targeted later with sit ups. And for some funny reason to do half press ups (from the knees rather toes)

I never remebered to do this most days.

Work sent us an email on getting a six pack this week!
Basically they said that 3-5 times a week of relatively high intensity cardio work for 20-30 mins is needed to shift fat in problem areas and doing 2-3 sessions of toning - spot reducing is a myth - you have to shift the bodyfat before you can see any muscles.

For me there's about 3 inches difference in my waist measurement between my normal posture and when i stand straight and hold my stomach in so i definitely have loose muscles that need tightening hence the work on the 'corset' muscles. I think that's what pilates targets as well. then over that is the superficial six-pack and then over tht is fat.
Over weight pple will most likely have a problem with all three. Childbirth affects the corset ones as the muscles seperate and look very flabby. Thats the one that physio said could only be worked on by holding then in while in some specific positions. If i ever clear the fat off my middle, i will be a happy miser.

Hi - a friend of mine was going regularly to the gym and couldn't get her tummy toned and so asked the trainers what was the best exercise and they said...........wait for it.......
walking!!

Have heard the same from other sources also.

I'm certainly going to give it a try

I've just bought an armchair abs toner .... like this one .... and it is great fun! Only just started using it - so will let you know how my flabby tum goes!