How can you flatten your stomach if your belly is too big to do sit ups?

Question

After two pregnancies and admitedly letting herself go, my wife gained 100 pounds. Now she wants to get in better shape but can't do sit ups because of the size of her belly. Is there another exercise you can do to flatten your stomach?

Answer 1

i am having the same problem.. i just joined a gym.. they told me the best way to get the way off quickly with results is to do a cardio workout and of course change diet.. then tone up when i have lost enough.. i am currently doing 45 minutes on the treadmill, the 30 minuntes on the eliptical and 30 mins on the bike.. so that is my suggestion.. tell her dont overdo it at first, start small and progress from there.. if she would like give her my email.. its always better to have a support system.. [e-mail]

Answer 2

The key is doing lots of cardio to lose the excess weight that is covering the stomach muscles. Until the excess adipose (fattyI tissue is removed there is little point in doing a tone of sit-ups due to the fact that you might tone the muscle, but you will not be able to see the toned muscle.

Depending on what shape your wife is in, this might simply be walking 30 minutes 5-7 times a week if possible, jogging, walking on a treadmill on an incline, or various cardio machines. The real key is to try to get 30 minutes a day. It is best to do it all in one setting, but if that is not possible 3 times a day for 10 minutes each is also a good way to start off the program.

Hope this helps =)

Answer 3

One thing that a lot of people fail to recognize is that you cannot target the fat burn into a specific area. Fat burn happens to the entire body as a whole. That is why you can see fit people pounding out crunches, and blasting the cardio - but still bearing bellies.

I have gone through a lot of training over the last year with various trainers at the gym to reach where I am now (50 lbs gone) and my cardio system is greatly improved (I actually just did a 1600 calorie workout).

None the less I am digressing a little bit. When you are looking to loose weight there are 3 key factors.

1:Eat small and often - this keeps your metabolism working, thus it uses up food - instead of allowing it to be stored as fat.
2: Build muscle - this will improve your metabolism - and increase your natural burn through the day. For example if your body needs 1800 calories to survive, and you eat 2000 calories - you will gain weight. If you build muscle - your body will increase how many calories it requires, and you can actually reach a point where your muscle tone helps you naturaly reduce your weight (this is very healthy weight loss - it is steady, stable - and most of all easy to achieve.
2a: Contrary to popular belief you can do weight training and not get bulky. Do lighter weights with more frequent reps. This will build more flexible, higher endurance muscles - with some definition but limited bulk and mass.
3: Cardio - fat burning zone. Speak to an expert to help you determine what your max heart rate is, and then discuss your fat burning zone. My cardio zone at max exertion for example is 180-190bpm, while my trainers whom are in better shape, different age group etc - have heart rate maxes from 165-180 depending on the person. The fat burning zone for me is around 145bpm. A trainer can discuss these in greater detail for you - as everyone achieves their zones at different "intensity."

Calories in must = less than calories required. or you will not loose weight. If you do exercise (weight training, cardio, even yoga (which will be great to start with - will help you learn to breath properly and become more body aware).

Keep this in mind:

(Body Required + Exercise) - Consumed = Calorie Deficit

If you have a positive #, you have done well. If you have a negative number, you will be gaining weight.

Every pound is aprox 3500 calories.

So if you use the above formula - and actually measure your progress to some degree (never be disapointed with limited loss. Your body will make you hate it sometimes but MOSTLY it will be a possitive experience. Keep at it).

http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/calsburned.htm
Shows how to calculate your body caloric requirements.

Body needs 2000 to live. Burned 500 calories at the gym) Ate 1700 calories.
(2000 + 500) - 1700 = 800
With this trend, it will take about 4.5 days per pound, 1.5-3lbs of weight loss per week is EXTREMELY good. You will see some large numbers sometimes - but don't live for the scale - live for the healthy choices and lifestyle.

(I apologize for the long winded and lack of organization in this answer - my mind is retiring for the evening after my workout :P)

Answer 4

Hi Dan,

You cannot remove fat from a particular spot on your body by exercising that specific part.

Stored fat is metabolised from all over the body proportionetly by increasing the energy that your body uses relative to the energy that you put into it as food.

Your wife should do a combination of resistance and cardio exercises to reduce stored fat throughout the body, the stomach will be included with all other areas with stored fat.

Increasing her muscle mass through resistance training is highly recommended as it increases the amount of calories that your body burns even when you are not exercising.

This increases metabolism 24/7 and will help her burn fat fast.

Answer 5

If you want a flat stomach don't do a lot of sit ups since they bulk up the abdominal muscles. Do more cardio workouts like walking, and running. The key here is to lose body fat. Eat a variety of nuts between meals, like at least six or at most a handful. Dry-roasted cashews, dry-roasted sunflower seeds, dry-roasted peanuts, roasted pumpkin seeds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pine nuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds to name a few. Avocados and olives are also good. They all have MUFAs, Google it and you will know what I mean. Good luck!

Answer 6

doing both cardio and toning is the best workout, the more muscle you gain the more calories you burn, even when youre not moving. also gaining muscle increases metabolism. you will also feel less tired and much more physically fit, cardio workouts will help you lose weight everywhere, example: walking on a treadmill will not only trim down your legs but everywhere on your body, you usually lose weight from the head down. good luck!

Answer 7

Lose the weight first by dieting and doing cardio (running etc)
and THEN work on toning up the stomach area

Answer 8

Cardio is the first step to burn the fat. Worry about toning the muscles once that is done.

Answer 9

she should go and get a personaly trainer. she needs to loose the poundage before she can get her stomach flat.

i feel for her though, i really do

Answer 10

lose the 100lbs first from portion control and then start doing sit ups..