Spot Toning

Myth or reality - doing sit-ups will burn fat off your belly?

Unfortunately, it’s a myth. The truth is, the overall fat percentage in your body plays the major roll in determining how flat or round your stomach is. And since the body’s fat storage is basically one system, you cannot lose fat in just your stomach area. Rather interestingly, while many people believe that doing lots of sit-ups will make their stomachs thinner, it is reported that leg exercises can burn more than four times the body fat than the humble sit-up!

Nature also works against us. While many people strive for the “perfect” flat stomach, the reality is the human abdominal or stomach area is meant to be a rounded shape. Of course a persons age, gender and individual genetic makeup also play important roles in determining the final “average” shape.

If you do want to flatten your stomach area (and lets face it - who doesn’t?), the first thing you should focus on to tone this area is your posture. Instead of spending a large amount of time trying to “flatten” the stomach or abs, and improved diet, regular exercise and better posture can improve a potbelly or other unhealthy appearance to an amazing level.

Some basic points to consider with your posture. When standing, make sure to bend your knees slightly. Keep your shoulders back, and make sure your head is evenly aligned (not cocked at an angle, or leaning too far forward or back). Finally, make sure your tail bone is aimed towards the floor by “sucking in,” or contracting the stomach muscles.

While we can’t remove stomach fat directly, we can work on getting a flat stomach by toning the muscles in the stomach area. The toning exercises below will help build the muscles in the belly area.

But as always, make sure to warm up for 5 to 10 minutes before you begin exercising. Warm ups that gradually build up to light cardio activity like jogging in place, walking, biking or jumping rope are the best.

Exercise A - Crunches
Get down on the floor - an exercise mat or carpeted area works well-. Lie on your back with your arms wrapped together across your chest, your knees bent a little and your feet flat on the floor. Slowly raise your head, shoulders and chest off the floor as you exhale, tightening your stomach muscles as you bend forward towards your hips. Pause. Then gently and slowly return to ALMOST the original position, inhaling as you do and being sure to keep your head just off the floor. Repeat.

If you are an intermediary or advanced toner, for a more intense workout place your hands behind or beside your head (making sure you don’t pull it) as you do this. For an even more intense workout, place your hands straight out over your head and pause for a couple seconds before inhaling.

Exercise B - Reverse Curls
Remain on the floor as before - it’s not time to work on the lower front and side abdominal muscles. Still on your back place your hands on the floor and have your knees bent towards your chest with hips off the floor. Continue to lift your hips, contracting the stomach muscles and bringing your hips further towards your chest. This exercise focuses on lifting the pelvis toward your rib cage using the abs without swinging the legs. Advanced toners can place their hands in the air leaving their elbows on the floor for increased intensity.

Exercise C - Intermission
This isn’t so much an exercise, as a short break. Return to the cardio activity you were doing at the end of your warm up, and continue doing that for 8 to 10 minutes.

Exercise D - Bike Pedals
Return to the mat or carpeted area, and do 20 to 30 imaginary bike pedal touches. In other words, lie on your back on the floor and place your hands behind your head. Lift your knees up to about a 45-degree angle from the floor, and slowly pedal an imaginary bike while touching your right elbow to your left knee and vice-versa, all the while breathing at a normal, natural pace. If you are at an intermediary or advanced level, you can make the angle of your legs near 180-degrees or straight (making sure not to lock the knees) for more intensive toning.

Exercise E - Finishing Cardio
Finish off with another 5 to 10 minutes of cardio activity.

For the best results, this toning workout should be done three to four times a week. Gradually work up your routine until the cardio portions last from 10 to 15 minutes each. Of course, add your other exercises for the upper and lower body areas for an all-over tone, and for the best results makes sure you are eacting a well-balanced diet.

If you want to focus on improving your abs, here are some additional abdominal exercises to increase the workout on the middle area of your body. All these exercises should be repeated 20 to 30 times.

Exercise A - Abdominal Leg Lifts

Begin by lying on an exercise mat or carpeted area. Place your legs together, and make your knees slightly bent (keep them slightly bent throughout the entire exercise). Lift your legs to a 90-degree angle. Hold. Gently let your legs back down towards their starting position, but do NOT come into contact with floor. If you need more back support while doing this, place hands under your buttocks.

Exercise B - Hanging Leg Lifts

Hang from a horizontal bar, with your hands a little more than shoulder-width apart (use gloves if you need for a firmer grip), and with your legs straight down. Lift your legs up slow and steady to your chest, bending your hips and knees. Hold. Lower to back to the starting position. For a change in routine, twist your hips to either side, touching your obliques or side abdominal muscles.

Exercise C - Ball Crunches

Balance your back on an exercise ball (or wheeled ottoman), placing your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart. Put your hands behind your head, but make sure you don’t pull during this exercise. With your back and head straight do small crunches, pulling together your abdominal muscles and lifting your shoulders several inches. Hold the crunch at top. Return to your starting position, slow and steady.

Exercise D - Ball Side Overs

Lying sideways over exercise ball (or wheeled ottoman), balance with your feet reaching floor. With your hands behind head (not pulling), and keeping your head, neck and body straight, raise your upper body slowly and steady - as high as you can. Hold. Lower back down to below your starting position, bending with ball’s help. Stop. Return back to beginning position. Switch sides and repeat.

Exercise E - Kneeling Crunches

With a toning bar or rope (with a pull-down machine), kneel towards machine with the cable angled away from the rack while you crunch down. Pull the bar or rope down to just above your forehead. Crunch down, slowly and steady while exhaling and maintaining the same position for the rope or bar. Hold. Return to the start position with your abs doing return.

This series of exercises will work on toning your legs and buttocks (who doesn’t want firmer buttocks!) As always, be sure to warm up for several minutes before you start doing these exercises, to prevent causing injury.

As with the upper body workout, some of these exercises use weights. These don’t need to be any special kind of “exercise” weight - cans of soda, water bottles, canned food or anything else that you can grasp comfortably but firmly will do fine. The weight range of whatever you use should be around 1lb-10lb. Make sure that you pick weights that are somewhat challenging but not so heavy that they force you to struggle. Beginners should probably start without weights initially, and progress to using them once you have been doing the exercises for a while.

Exercise A - Squats with Weights

Hold a weight in each hand (beginners should start without) and place your arms down your sides with you hands turned so that palms face each other. Stand straight with your feet comfortably shoulder-width apart, making sure your knees are a little bent. Squat down while inhaling, stopping if you can no longer see your toes (you don’t want to pass this point). Slowly rise back up, exhaling as you push with your heels to your original position. Repeat these squats about 20 times, making sure to use good form.

Exercise B - Reverse Kicks

On a carpeted area or exercise mat get on your hands and knees. Balance your body weight on your right leg and both arms, then as you exhale lift your left leg, keeping it a little at the knee. Kick up towards the ceiling with the left leg. Gradually return your leg to start position while inhaling. Repeat slowly approximately 25 times. Switch to the right leg and do another 25 repeats.

Exercise C - Lunges

Stand stright with your feet together and your knees slightly bent, your head up. Hold a weight in each hand with your arms at your sides, the hands turned so the palms face each other. Move your right leg forward a step while inhaling, then lower yourself by bending the left leg so that the left knee just about touches the floor (be sure to keep your back straight while doing this). Return to your starting position while exhaling, shoving off with your right foot. Repeat, alternating legs. Repeat this set about 20 times.

Exercise D - Chair Squats

Stand in front of a chair with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees bent slightly. Inhale as you sit down into the chair. Return to your start standing position, pushing off with your feet while exhaling (don’t use your arms to push off). Make sure not to lock your knees as you stand. Repeat 12 times. For increased intensity, use hand weights.

Exercise E - Weighted Squats

Stand straight with a weight in each hand, your arms at your sides and your palms facing each other. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, and your knees slightly bent. Proceed like you do with Chair Squats, only without the chair (so you are holding yourself up while squating). For increased intensity, add hand weights.

If you want to focus your toning exercises on getting a firmer butt, here are a couple of additional exercises targeting the buttocks that you can mix in with your regular exercise routine.

Exercise A - Squat-Squeezes

This is a variation of two exercises we have already seen. Stand in front of a chair with your feet shoulder-width apart. Very slowly lower yourself into a squatting position until you are just barely touching the seat. Hold. Rise while squeezing your buns together. Repeat. To increase the toning effect, you can add hand weights.

Exercise B - Leg Swings

Stand straight and tall, knees slightly bent. Move one leg out to the right, then back in. Repeat using a gentle swinging motion a dozen times, making sure you are working the muscles in the buttock area. Repeat using other leg.

Exercise C - Other Activities

This isn’t so much an exercise, as a suggestion of other activities to try. Walking, jogging, biking, hiking, martial arts and yoga are all great rear end toners, and will help you get that firm butt you’re after!