Fantastic abs: from flabby to fit, firm & fabulous

Ebony, Oct, 2005 by Sandra C. Davis

HAVE you given up on attaining the perfect "six-pack" and accepted the pudgy rolls that spill over your pants? Is wearing a midriff never an option? Does zipping your pants in the morning take Herculean strength?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are like millions of Americans who want a trimmer waist and a leaner profile, but don't quite know the secret to turning bulging "love handles" into a sculpted abdomen. Don't give up! Your goal is neither unattainable nor vain. Experts agree that a toned, strong abdomen is an essential component of good health.

"Good core-muscle strength stabilizes the body, making it easier for a person to maneuver, significantly improving the quality of a person's life," says Melanie Marchand, a certified fitness and holistic health expert who founded Sisters in Shape Consultants (SIS) in Philadelphia.

Excessive belly fat is such a common problem these days that experts describe it as "central obesity." One description of central obesity is a man with a waist measurement more than 40 inches, and a woman whose waist measurement is greater than 35 inches. Men are more likely to carry excess weight in their abdominal area, whereas females carry the bulk of their weight on the hips, buns and thighs.

Chicagoan Denise Lewis recently trimmed her waist by several inches by speed-walking daily and performing an abdominal routine consisting of crunches, pelvic tilts and quick torso rotations. Lewis, 51, says she looks and feels healthier, and now is able to travel in her car without lower back pain. Her consistent routine has helped her to lose belly fat and tighten her abdominal muscles, and she no longer buys XXL shirts to hide her waistline. Denise can now fit in her" when I looked good" jeans that have been in the back of her closet since 1996.

Lewis' routine is pretty simple. It begins with the prayer, "Thank you, God, for today," and then she walks two blocks to her local park, which has a running track. She dashes around the track six or seven times, and then returns home to finish her workout with her ab routine. This program has helped Lewis, a single, retired home health care worker, maintain her 30-pound weight loss for several months. Not only has she improved the shape of her body, she has also improved the quality of her life.

"Decreasing abdominal fat reduces the risk of many preventable diseases," says Monique C. Ryan, a registered dietician and president of Personal Nutrition Designs and the author of Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes. Medical professionals say that belly fat is not only unhealthy, but also toxic. It greatly elevates the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, breast and colon cancer, high blood pressure and back pain.

We all know where our "spare tires" came from--that second or third piece of sweet potato pie, that all-you-can-eat buffet and not using the ab machine that is collecting dust in the closet. Excess weight in the abdominal area has several causes, including genetics, stress, high-calorie diet, excessive alcohol consumption and a sedentary lifestyle.

If you find the appearance and hazards associated with an overgrown gut upsetting, the benefits of a trim and toned waist may empower you to take action.

Fitness professionals and physicians encourage people to get a basic knowledge of the abdominal muscles that make up the core of the body. The "six-pack" extends from the sternum to the pelvis, and it is the top layer of muscle under the skin. "When exercising, always start with proper form, and with any abdominal exercise, always protect your back by keeping it down into the mat, and never overextend your neck," says Jeanette Jenkins, a certified personal trainer and fitness expert who created The Hollywood Trainer fitness program for her celebrity clientele in Los Angeles. "A basic crunch will strengthen the top half of the abdomen's center, and a reverse crunch will tone the lower half. A good way to tone the six-pack is to just hold in your stomach throughout the day."

"Love handles" (little rolls of fat that spill over the sides of your pants) run diagonally from the lower ribs to the upper pelvic bone and work together with a deeper muscle that stems from the pelvis to the lower ribs to rotate the torso. "Side crunches and bicycle crunches tighten the sides of the waist," says Melanie Marchand.

The "girdle," often called the postpartum pouch and is considered the most difficult abdominal area to firm, stretches horizontally across the lower part of the stomach. Seated torso turns with an exercise ball with flatten and firm the bottom of the stomach. "All these muscles that support the lower back can be made stronger by doing back extensions," says Jenkins. To perform a back extension, lie on your stomach; stretch out your legs and arms; then lift your arms and legs upward and outward.

Have you done all of these abdominal exercises before and never gotten the results you wanted? If so, your abs are firm, but hidden by your excess weight. "Aerobic exercise and a sensible diet is the only way to lose weight," says both Marchand and Jenkins. Personal trainers agree that to realize the dream of a slim waist, a person must exercise regularly to maintain weight loss. Cardiovascular exercises, a vital part of any exercise routine, do not have to be boring. For example, some fun aerobic exercises are dancing, swimming and biking. If you want even faster results from your ab routine, personal trainers recommend performing resistance training exercises like Pilates, yoga, or using a stability ball to target the abdominal muscles.