Fifty sit-ups a day club

[PrettyCandles]

Well, ab-crunches, really - I doubt I could do even one proper sit-up at the moment .

I'm starting with
10 forward
10 oblique to one side
10 oblique to the other side
10 forward
10 backward (ie draped forward over a ball and lifting my upper body up. Not technically an abs exercise, but still core body.)

Any joiners?

Hi all

Hope you don't mind me adding this message but I'm a post natal fitness trainer and I've got a few tips that might help.

Firstly to get rid of flabby bits you need to do cardio vascular work e.g. brisk walking (or jogging etc). If you do abs work without the cardio you'll have great muscles but with flab on top.

Secondly it will help flatten your stomach to engage your deep core muscles before doing all the exercises, e.g crunches etc. These deep muscles are like a girdle that flattens the stomach and supports the spine. Without engaging those muscles you're really only working the surface muscles when you do crunches. You need to work both.

A good way to find the deep muscles is to stand tall, breath out fully and then pull your belly button towards your spine. Do this 'towards spine' thing before you start your abs work and dorsal raises

Lastly if it's not long since you've had your baby you might need to do less intense exercises, and you need to check that any abdominal separation (which happens to about 66% of us) has closed to less than a two finger width - this is commonly know as a rec check. Your GP may or may not have checked at your 6 week check.

Cheers and good luck - and don't forget to work your pelvic floor!

Well done of the weight loss fizzbuzz and yes pushing the buggy definately counts - with hills even better!

Engaging your deep core will definately help. I'd say that's the most important thing to master, and then add on the crunches, obliques etc.

Cheers!

I remember being taught to 'zip up' to engage the deep core muscles before crunching (or anything else for that matter). The mental imagery being zipping up a long (trouser) fly wihtout using my hands.

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I thought it was sloths that draped themselves over trees.

Would love life as a sloth......

Using your baby as a weight is a great idea, try:

Bicep curls
Bent over row (where you are hinged at the waist and pulling your baby towards you)
Chest press, where you are lying and pushing your baby away from your chest
Lunges holding your baby
Wall squats holding your baby
Push ups over the baby
Superman over your baby, on all fours stetching out one arm and opposing leg
Crunches with baby on your lap

Remember to enagage the deep core muscles for all exercises.

There are many other possibilities too but please research the techniques involved for all exercises as your back for example can be put under unnecessary pressure.

Hope this helps!

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Can I join? I have actually been doing 50 a day for 10 days (well OK, not all of the last 10 days, but 8 out of 10 aint bad). I am also going to post natal pilates at my gym this afternoon and I try and swim 50 lengths of the pool once a week. I might sound too keen but I am getting married on May 5 so have an incentive. Also sounding keen is differnent to always doing what I have just described. I need support and maybe even a little bullying.

Thank god for elastic waist bands!

Can I join in pls? Have just found this thread and thought I better get off my fat ass and do some sit ups, managed to do 100 then it all got a bit shaky! Whoever has the Davina workout dvd is it any good and how long are the workouts on there? Got a naf workout dvd called the Allstars Workout, didnt even get me sweating and was done in seperate body sections which I dont like.

Bighotmama, Davina's Power of 3 is an excellent workout. The 3 sections last about 30 minutes each (actually I think the core stability lasts longer). The workouts are focussed and intense. Definitely one of the best celebrity workout DVDs on the market.

I've recently purchased The Ultimate Bootcamp DVD by David Hirsch, American fitness instructor to the likes of Heidi Klum. The exercises are intense and work the whole body. One to try when you are fitter. I have also just taken delivery of Pilates Ab workout. This focuses on the abdomen for 30 minutes. I've done it once and boy, it is really intense. You really have to concentrate in order to engage the deep core muscles that Blissfit mentioned.

My aim is to do 100 crunches every morning before I get the twins up. Yikes!

Cheers Speedymama, may go get the dvd and give it a try. Bet your twins keep you fit lol .

sorry if someone has already explained or asked this but how soon after birth can you start doing sit-ups? My ds is 10 weeks old now and thought i read somewhere that you shouldn't do sit-ups for 3 months post-birth. I used to do 50 a day in the good old days pre-baby! thanks

I've just found this thread too. Can I join in? I have a very wrinkly, apron type post c-section tummy [yuk emoticon]. I've got about 2 stone to lose and have been cycling for about 3 miles on the exercise bike every day but really have to do something about this belly.

Just a question - is it really possible to lose the apron? Or am I stuck with my overhang for life

Hi All, been managing every day but had a rest yesterday. Been doing lots of shoulder work with 1kg weights and lots of reps. Abs def feel better. I used to belly dance regularly (before morning, afternoon, evening sickness) it's great for defining muscle groups if any of you can find a class near you - great fun and all sizes. Would love to go back but LO is still too small at 'mo. Was very lucky as my abs were less than 2cms apart after 2 days! Just got 2stone 5 pounds of flab to shift! Lost 4lbs in the past fortnight - slow but sure.

Haggis - think it depends on your skin elasticity as well if you will lose your apron. Try massaging tum every day with sweet almond oil or extra virgin olive oil and make sure you eat plenty of good fats in your diet - avocados, oily fish, nuts (not peanuts) seeds.

Hi all

You should wait to do crunches and obliques until your abs are less than two fingers apart - this is the rec (rectus abdominus)check. Something called doming can happen (a bulge in the ab wall) when there is still sepearation.

But you can do the pulling belly button towards spine and other exercises straight away, e.g. pelvic tilts. A great book on this and general exercises is 'The Complete Guide to Postnatal Fitness' by Judy DiFiore.

You will lose the overhang post C section (I've had a section too) but the tougher ab work shouldn't be done if you have any discomfort. You can still do more gentle exercises, see the book above as a good guide.

The focus first should be on shortening the muscles (e.g. via pelvic tilts) before building strength (e.g. via crunches and oblique exercises).

I'm afraid it can take upto six months post birth to fully regain pre pregnancy shape, but keep going and remember your pelvic floor exercises!

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Did my 100. Not convinced post baby apron will go.

Now well past 6 months since dd was born, and still have stomach and overhang

Hi I read this thread with interest last week and then lost you all. Can I join to, have managed 50 ab crunches daily along with 50 half press ups for the last week.

Christ, Youngest child is 18 months old and still have the overhang. Slowly losing weight by swimming and drinking less beer. I was doing sit ups by hooking my feet under the sofa & was told by someone this could be really damaging, any truth in that? I find it near impossible to do them without doing that, just end up looking like a dying fly. I am doing lots of pelvic floor stuff though, meant to be good for your back too these days.

Hi

Keep going fizzbuzz!

You may be doing everything absolutely right but I'll suggest the following anyway. Make sure you are working your core, commonly called zip up and hollow in pilates and includes your pelvic floor. Do this throughout the day, not just when doing your exercises.

And, instead of doing 100, try doing less but making them harder. E.g. if doing crunches lengthen your arms out above your head (when lying flat you arms will lie along the floor above your head), or vary the combination of exercies - ones that start from the table top position are pretty tough. Leg slides are an example, lie on your back with knees above hips and your legs at a right angle. Slide your legs out keeping your ankles at the same height as your knees. The movement should be quite small and the adbdomen should remain flat, the back should also not curl away from the floor.

Another tough one is the plank. Definately give it a go if you're not doing it already. Google it for technique.

Also do dorsal raises keeping your tummy drawn in (as always!).

Hope this helps

I played badminton yesterday - for the first time in nearly 10y. We were to be 3 mums sharing the court, but one dropped out and the other's dh took her place. Now, while I don't mind embarassing myself in front of two other mums of pre-schoolers, it's entirely another thing to do so in front of a strange man . But to my great delight I didn't embarass myself at all - as long as I didn't have to run I was able to return all the shots, even place some quite well. But of course I did have to run about a bit too - and discovered that there is absolutely no spring left in my knees. I was puffed and red after 30mins of it. But boy was it fun! We've booked the court again for next week!

Oooh pretty you've just reminded to book a squash court havent played for over a year now, maybe that could speed up getting rid of my overhang too!

Blissfit you can be my cyber personal trainer if ya like? Ha! Good to get these tips from you thanks.

Off to do my 100 now

Blissfit, if possible, I would be grateful if you could please provide some advice about breathing techniques. When doing crunches, I tend to breathe in on the way up and exhale on the way down. Should I use my nose for inhaling and exhale out through my mouth or does it not matter? Also, could you please advise on the best breathing technique for the bicycle and plank exercises?

TIA

Count me in. I'm holding in the beginnings of my first ever muffin-top. It's got to go. So are we reporting back?