Flat stomach

Hi,

I'm trying to lose weight and I also want a flat stomach (don't we all:)) but I wasn't sure whether it was worth doing Ab exercises while I still had quite a bit of excess weight in that area, won't exercising it just turn it into muscle and make it harder to shift?

Thanks,

Em

There is no way for fat to "turn into" muscle. 

The way to a flat stomach (which is not easy for most women to achieve) is table push-aways and fork-put-downs.  It's more about losing fat than anything else.

And the best ab exercises and deadlifts, squats, planks, and push-ups.  Exercises that 'target' your abs are not really necessary. 

I got a flat stomach from doing Taebo and sticking to a certain amount of cals a day. I also added in some crunches here and there.

Getting a flat stomach (defined abs) is about your diet and body fat %. You have to  have a very low body fat % to get defined abs. Just get to a healthy weight and don't worry so much about perfectly flat abs. Girls that drop too low in weight or body fat % can loose the period and have other health problems. That's not to say ab and core strengthening exercises should not be done. Planks, squats, lunges, pullups are all good in moderation. Heavy, hard lifting 3 days a week will help a lot with fat loss and ab definition.

If you enjoy swimming, this is a wonderful way to strenthen your torso, your lats, and your abs, and it's painless. Doing laps will naturally use the torso muscles, and you burn calories at the same time. i agree that the flat stomach thing is defined by one's diet and body fat, but while you are losing weight, you can feel better about toning your abs by swimming - if you enjoy it, that is.

Original Post by anniepook:

If you enjoy swimming, this is a wonderful way to strenthen your torso, your lats, and your abs, and it's painless. Doing laps will naturally use the torso muscles, and you burn calories at the same time. i agree that the flat stomach thing is defined by one's diet and body fat, but while you are losing weight, you can feel better about toning your abs by swimming - if you enjoy it, that is.

 I agree, swimming is excellent. Low impact. Great way to burn calories while having fun.

Original Post by anniepook:

If you enjoy swimming, this is a wonderful way to strenthen your torso, your lats, and your abs, and it's painless. Doing laps will naturally use the torso muscles, and you burn calories at the same time. i agree that the flat stomach thing is defined by one's diet and body fat, but while you are losing weight, you can feel better about toning your abs by swimming - if you enjoy it, that is.

 I wish my gym had a pool. Im tempted to join a Y so I can go swimming.

You can do all the crunches in the world but never see your six pack. If you have a lot of fat, you have to get rid of that too. Cardio will help with this.

It's not a waste to do muscle-building ab exercises while you're still retaining a lot of fat. From what I understand, having more muscles burns more calories throughout the day. Any kind of work you're doing helps. Any work is better than none at all, right?

You can do all the crunches in the world but never see your six pack. If you have a lot of fat, you have to get rid of that too. Cardio will help with this.

It's not a waste to do muscle-building ab exercises while you're still retaining a lot of fat. From what I understand, having more muscles burns more calories throughout the day. Any kind of work you're doing helps. Any work is better than none at all, right?