Spot Reduction
The honest truth... The only way to spot reduce is Liposuction. You cannot spot reduce with exercise or diet... Period! You can tone certain body parts by training specific muscles but if you have excess bodyfat between the muscle and skin (subcutaneous fat) all that muscle you trained hard for will be obscured.
Many advertisements use the word "trim waistline". The fact is that ab exercises will train your abdominal muscles, but you will have the same layer of fat sitting on top of these muscles unless you create a calorie deficit by burning more calories than you consume. The most effective combination is aerobic exercise, strength training and healthy eating habits. That's the brutal honest truth!
Effective Abdominal Exercises
As mentioned earlier, ab exercises won't reduce fat from your waistline. Genetics, age, posture and gender determine the shape of your abdomen. With the proper exercises, you can improve the abdominal muscles. The abdominal muscles react to resistance training just like any other muscle group. Your abdominals are generally made up of predominantly slow twitch or aerobic type fibers and tend to respond to higher repetitions. I generally recommend 25-50 reps per set however, start working at your current fitness level and work toward the higher rep range.
You can achieve results without any equipment. Below are a few exercises which require no equipment and can be done anywhere.
Standard Crunch:
Lie on back with knees bent. Lift your shoulders off the floor, concentrating on moving your ribs towards your hips. Pretend a grapefruit is under your chin so you don't move your head. Easier: hands on chest. Harder: Hands on sides of head, but don't pull on head. Hardest: Hands straight out above head. Go slow and keep breathing. Try 2 seconds up, hold for 2 seconds, then 2 seconds going down. As mentioned in my previous blog, you can try using a towel behind your neck to help prevent a sore neck.
Reverse Curl:
This targets the lower fibers of the front abdominal muscle and also the side abdominals. Lie on your back and bend your knees toward your chest as far as is comfortable, keeping hips on the floor. Contract your abdominal muscles to lift hips off the floor and bring knees toward chest. Don't swing your legs! Concentrate on using your abs to lift your pelvis toward your lower rib cage. Go slow and keep breathing. Easier: Hands on floor. Harder: Elbows on floor, hands in air. This exercise may be helpful for those with back issues.
Combination Crunch:
Do the standard crunch and the reverse curl at the same time. This will provide a muscular contraction deep into the abdominal muscles.
Bicycle Crunch
This one is a favourite of mine. Simply lay on your back and move your legs like you're pedaling a bike. At the same time crunch your upper body up twisting slightly bringing the opposite elbow to your knee. This is effective for not only working the abdominals but the obliques and intercostals as well.
Jack Knife Crunches
Most of my training clients are familiar with this exercise. Sit on a bench or floor leaning back about 45 degrees with your feet in the air. Perform the Combination Crunch. Easier: Hands on the bench or floor behind your body. Harder: Don't support your body but hold your hands in front of your body.
* Always consult with your physician and a CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER before beginning this or any fitness program to ensure you are able to perform exercises effectively and minimize risk of injury.