Strengthening tummy

[cleaning247]

I have no stomach muscles. I don't think I could even do one sit up. Where do I start with strengthening it?

Pilates is a good place to start as you will learn good form, if you can make it to a class. Then there are loads of videos online. Situps not a beginner move IMO - your lower back will kick in if your abs not strong.

A beginners Pilates class would help you a lot.

I've done quite a bit of strengthening...a PT said I have good core strength and decently developed muscles, yet still can't do a sit up! I think my body is weird.

I agree with Pilates or yoga. Planks are the (painful) way forward.

Pilates it’s worth finding an instructor who will give you a couple of private sessions to teach you how to engage your core muscles correctly and teach you some of the basic principles of Pilates. It’s worth the money as then you can do some practice on your own or in a class knowing you have got the basics correctly down. You’ll progress much more quickly and get more out of your classes or online sessions. Pilates is challenging (when done correctly) but it’s worth it!

I don't think I could even do one sit up. Where do I start with strengthening it?

I'd start by thinking about your body alignment & posture. To have decent skeletal alignment & good healthy posture, you need to use your abdominal muscles - they operate like a kind of corset around our middle.

So think "navel to backbone" or the Pilates "zip up" all the time - get used to walking a sitting at least 50% of your time in a "held" posture with a straight spine & neutral pelvis. Suck it all in - although keep your pelvis soft & neutral, don't flare your ribs or tens your shoulders - you need to use your abdominals to do this.

This will start to activate those support muscles, and show you the importance of functional fitness - abdominal muscles are there to support your back. There's no point in doing sit ups just to do them - think about why or what for you need strong abdominals.

And if you do this in conjunction with a good Pilates class, you'll start to see some results. But don't go madly crunching. Half a dozen slow, controlled perfect roll ups and spine roll downs, with no bunched up stomach, will do you more good than umpteen sit ups.

I totally disagree with everyone else. Start lifting weights rather than do pilates. That will make your abs stronger in no time. There's loads of bodyweight exercises you can do to build up the weights that you can use but nothing else will do what lifting weights can do.

Well, yes of course @MrsJamin ! But you need to have a bit of training and technique to lifts weights seriously if you're going to do more than the little weights in a Pump class, for example.

I agree, by the way - I find weighted back squats particularly give me core stability and very very strong abs. And pushing 160kg on the leg press needs strong abs.

That was my point really about functional fitness - what can you DO better or more with strong abs. Sit ups aren't really the point, are they?

Sit ups are way down the line if you're really weak - there's other stuff you'd do before then that would do good and not lead to injury. OP, could you get a personal trainer for even just one session who could give you some starter weight training exercises for core muscles?

I'd suggest the beginners Pilates (to learn basic core stability - but in a small group or 1-1 rather than a huge community hall style class) before someone with no stomach muscles starts lifting weights. Otherwise, the risk of doing yourself a mischief is really quite high.

Once you have some relationship with your stomach muscles and the kind of functional stability a PP is talking about, then there's loads of different options. But the OP describes herself as having no stomach muscles (she does; she just isn't familiar with them). So you'd want to be starting right at the absolute basics.

Skate. It's fun in a way that few exercises are and it builds incredible core strength.