Feeling a little flabby around the mid-section? Don’t blame weight gain; it could simply be tone loss. Here are some tips on using pilates for a toned stomach.
There are many reasons you may be lacking tone around the tummy says Emma Seibold, Founder of Barre Body.
“Lack of exercise that includes focused core work, pregnancy, childbirth, abdominal surgery and poor posture” all play a part, she says.
“About 50% of Barre Body clients want to tone their core muscles,” she adds. “It’s a huge motivator for coming to class.”
“The biggest myth about toning the tummy is that sit-ups alone will do the trick,” she says. “To really effectively tone the tummy, you need to do exercises that work the transversus abdominus, rectus abdominus, rectus abdominus and the external and internal oblique muscles.”
“They key to working with core muscles well is to set up correct alignment and form and this is more likely to happen in slower, non-cardio based exercises,” she says. “One can of course work their core muscles during cardio exercise if they are in a proper alignment and employing the correct technique,” she adds.
“A great video to illustrate exercises that are perfect for this is one we shot exclusively for Rescu. (watch it below). They include Navasana (Boat Posture), Plank, Vasistana (Side Plank) and some additional Pilates-inspired moves,” she says.
If you are short of time, a very simple core toning and postural benefiting exercise is to sit up tall to find a neutral spine (gentle S-shaped) and draw the lower belly (between the pubic bone and belly button) inwards and upwards which can be done at anytime, anywhere!