Abdominal fat is maligned for its way of tampering with any outfit that doesn’t involve a muumuu, but really there’s something way worse about the stuff: When white fat expands in your abdomen, nestling deep among your organs, it sets you up for some serious health trouble.
Losing weight, unfortunately, isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. What helps one person shed pounds may backfire on another.
Because we’re all so different, from our food preferences to our body chemistry, the only successful way to reach and maintain a healthy weight is to find what works for you. We’ve read the studies, the books, the reports, and the theories. We’ve been talking to experts and trying to keep ourselves trim for years.
There probably are a million ways to gain 10 pounds, but here are 9 ways to lose them:
Beginner Moves
Butterfly Crunch
Targets: rectus abdominus (“abdominal muscle”)
Lie on the back and put the soles of your feet as close to your body as possible, with your knees bent out to sides. Put your hands behind your head, elbows in line with your ears. Keep the back flat on the floor and with the stomach muscles contracted, exhale and curl your chest up a few inches off the floor toward your legs. Lower to start. Repeat this 10 times.
Side to side
Targets: obliques (sides)
Lie on your back and bend your knees and feet flat on the floor, and your arms at your sides. Breathe out and contract your stomach muscles as you slide the right hand toward the right foot. Keep your head and neck aligned with your lower back pressed to the floor. Go back to the starting position, then change sides. Repeat 15 times.
Front Plank
Targets: transverse abdominals
Start on your hands and knees. Keep your back and stomach muscles contracted and drop down to your forearms while extending your legs out behind you so you are resting on the fingers of your feet. Keep your back straight, hips up, and neck relaxed. Stay in this position for 3 seconds, then go back to the start. Repeat 10 times.
Intermediate Moves
Fingers to Toes
Targets: rectus abdominus
Lie on your back with your legs straightened and extended toward the ceiling, with your arms down by your sides. Exhale and contract your stomach muscles as you crunch up from your waist and extend your hands toward your toes. Keep your back flat on the floor. Do 2 sets of 15 repetitions.
Scissors
Targets: obliques
Lie on the back and rest your fingers behind your head. Keep your stomach muscles tight, raise your left knee and touch it to your right elbow. Go back to starting position, then raise your right knee and touch it to your left elbow. Alternate for 15 repetitions using a gentle, continuous motion, keeping your stomach muscles engaged and hands relaxed so that you don`t pull on your neck. Do 2 sets.
Reverse Crunch with Resistance Bands
Targets: transverse abdominals
Lie on the back with your knees bent, arms down by your sides, holding one end of a band in each hand, with the band wrapped around. Raise your knees toward your chest until your hips leave the floor. Hold for 3 seconds; lower to start. Repeat for 2 sets of 10 repetitions.
Advanced Moves
Knee-Ups
Targets: rectus abdominus
Hold yourself between the backrests of two sturdy chairs, keeping elbows slightly bent, shoulders down, neck relaxed, with your head and chest lifted. Keep your stomach muscles tight, exhale and slowly bring your knees to your chest without swinging back and forth. If you cannot keep your body in this for, raise one knee at a time. Do 3 sets of 15 repetitions.
Leg Swings
Targets: obliques
Lie on your back with your arms out to sides, legs and feet pointing up. Exhale and point your stomach towards the spine as you bend legs to left side about 5 inches from the floor. Go back to the start and do the same on right side. Switch the sides for a total of 15 repetitions. Do 3 sets.
Ball Leg Lift
Targets: transverse abdominals
Lie with your face on a ball and roll forward until your hands are on the floor and only the tops of your feet are flat on ball. Keeping your back and right leg straight, slowly lift your leg a couple of inches toward the ceiling. Hold for 3 seconds, then lower. Do 10 repetitions, then change legs. It is recommended that you add 2 repetitions each week as long as you can maintain perfect form.