Do stomach exercises work?

[fizzbuzz]

Have proverbial sack of spuds stomach since having dd 6 months ago, although this didn,t happen after 1st pregnancy.

Stll struggling to fasten trousers even though weigh less than I did before I became pg.

Do sit ups etc really make a difference? How long must you do them for? Will I ever have a flat tum again? Also dd born by ceasarean, does that make a difference? HELP!

Hi Fizz - no advice but will be watching this thread with great interest. I also am carrying a sack of spuds around (although I do weigh 3 stone more than I did pre-pg) and have started new diet/fitness regime - mainly with the intention of getting a flat tum again!!

I'm watching this thread too!
I need to know best thigh exercise that works as well as needing to do tummy exercises!

I have been going to the gym three times a week doing classes like combat step and legs bums and tums I see a differents but still have a small jelly belly wonder if it will ever go?

Don't think it ever goes completely but you can definitely make a difference with exercise.
I had my ds in 2004 and in the following 46wks lost 6.5 sts with WW - the best exercise I discovered was Body Pump. The toning is amazing and will totally alter your body shape. I had weeks where my clothes felt totally different, convinced I'd lost 4+ lbs - went to weigh in and had in fact only lost 0.5lbs?

Body Pump is at most gyms - I'm a member of my local council run gym and we have classes almost daily there - give it a go.

Sit ups do work. I found doing 80 -100 a day worked(you have to build up to that many).

Now that I don't do them anymore, my tummy is slack again.

Message withdrawn

Depends what you mean by 'do they work?'! I used to have very strong stomach muscles from the sports that I did but my tummy stuck out due to the way I had trained them. My partner at the time (hubby now) thought I was a little overweight until he realised there was no layer of fat there!
Now (after pregnancy) I am concentrating on doing stomach muscles in a way that will tone them in a bit more of a flat way, starting with pulling belly button in to back regularly (well I am only 2 weeks post partum). I will then follow a Pilates type regime to help tone - make sure you never allow your stomach muscles to 'dome' or stick out when you exercise - if they do then the exercise is to difficult (although it may not feel like it) and you will be training your tummy to bulge.
If you are training tummy muscles then you must also train the opposing muscles (lower back) to build an even body.
As you have had a C-section (even though it was 6 months ago) take it easy to start with and do a check to ensure your stomach muscles are not still seperated from the pregnancy (I think it is called diastasis rectus) - search the internet for checking this but basically if you lie on your side and bring your knees up to your chest and prod your tummy the muscle shouldn't feel seperated.
Then again, you can always have a good strong girdle (back and tummy) but have a little fat around the area and not see all the hard work you have done so then you need to do aerobic exercise to burn fat (walking, swimming, aerobics etc), and also you can just end up thicker after pregnancy naturally and just have to accept it and have the excuse to buy a new wardrobe! A colleague of mine was a triathlete - a year later she is still a dress size up and has just accepted that.
Hope that helps. If in any doubts consult a personal trainer preferably qualified in pre/post natal exercise.

belgo, how long did you have to do them before it made any difference?

Chipstick, am awed by your weight loss, that is fantastic, but unfortunately just do not have time or freedom to do classes..no creche etc.

It's not really a wight problem, as am lighter than pre pregnancy, so it is definitely a saggy muscle problem. Am now having to wear trousers which look ridiculous, because if they fit round the waist they are miles too big round bum, so create a stylish "saggy arse" effect. In my youth used to pride myself on slim waist, but obviously pride now comes before a fall!

weight problem even

sachaf thanks for all the advice, explanation; determined to do something about it now been since cs 2004 , as everything else went back to normal quite easily over time except tummy, (heard it was called muffin overhang)!

Mine must be a supersize muffin then!

Thanks for advice SachaF, will have to keep going as cannot afford a new wardrobe

Suzycreamcheese, do you think having a c- section knackers your stomach muscles? Min were not like this after normal birth of ds.

I had a c-section and 5 years on I can still put my fingers in the gap between the muscles ( I exercise too!)
Pilates is good for stomaches and I do Bodybalnce and yoga, which helps your posture and therefore makes stand taller and looking slimmer (I hope )

fizzbuzz - supersize, i'm 'buy one get huge one free' muffin!
you could be right though have only one child so have only had c section..
through walking loads and loads the weight dropped off, til my muffin was all that remained!
sit ups is all i can think of doing easy do able indoors and pray to the lord of the belly that it works!
and swimming but difficult to get time...

nikkie, sorry, but that sounds awful, i dont have gap ..checking, no i dont think so! unless its been filled w/ muffin...i wish i could exercise more, are you showing off or do you really do all that?

lol at filled with muffin. No I don't seem to have a gap either, so cannot blame jelly belly on that....

Nikkie, how do you find time to do all that?!
Looking after dd takes all my time plus some!
Also of course nowhere that runs those type of things ever ever offer a creche around here.

It appears that c sections do terrible things to stomach muscles, but does anybody know why?!!

I was told by an aerobics instructor that all women who have been pg are in danger of ending up with a 'sticky out tummy' (nothing to do with c-sections) - the way to stop it is to conciously suck you tummy in (pull your belly button to your back) all the time (in the shower, walking,driving etc) - don't know if this is accurate and I never remember to do it.

But they cut your stomach muscles open during a c-section so maybe that is why it takes longer to heal?

just on this topic, can i ask, does anyone get twinges from their c section scar area?
sometimes i do, not painful but skin taught for moment or two; am i a freak?

you will be able to tone your stomach muscles, around 200 sit ups a day will tone your stomach in about 3 weeks, (sounds simple when you see it written down i know) it works as i toned my stomach after having ds 7yrs ago and i had an em c/s but i also had a hangover of skin due to the c/s plus loads of excess skin as i stretched so much as ds was a larger baby, i decided i wanted more kids so 4yrs later i had a smaller baby but still had a bulge of loose skin, no matter how much i tried i couldn't get rid of the loose skin, so as long as you have no excess of skin you will be able to tone your tummy to be flat

Apperently brisk wlaking for about an hour a day is the quickest way to a flat stomach. I've been doing this for a while now as well as doing slimming world and my tummy is deffinately much flatter stand up straight when you walk pull your stomach muscles in and it works your deepest abdominal muscles as well as working out your bottom.

*walking

will also add i had the space of seperation of my stomach muscles but my muscles were still toned to a good degree, i eventually had my muscles stitched back together when i had a tummy tuck done last year as the skin bothered me that much

I did for about a year after. I hate that word overhang. but I have one

Will try walking then, unfortunately being tall and pushing a buggy doesn't easily lend itself to standing up straight, usually have to bend to reach buggy handles

Wow Kidstrak...oh for a tummy tuck....did it make a big difference? Do you now have a washboard stomach?

Don't do it all regularly!
body balance 1 evening, yoga 1 am (ifI don't get called to work) , and Pilates when I get round to it at home on DVD.
Both my kids are at school and I work 3 days on a proper week so get some time on my own.Also get time at the w/e when they go to their DAds.Swim quite a bit now too as kids now swim lengths.

Abdominal exercises won't rid you of any fat you have over your tummy but will flatten it underneath and help you to hold it in. If you don't have much fat over the top you can get really good results. After I had Ds2 who weighed 9lb 12oz my stomach muscles were unsurprisingly not in great shape. I started exercising at home and the video I used had an 8 minute abs section at the end. I did this 3 times a week and got noticeable results within a few weeks. Since then I have increased the amount of exercise I do (5-6 times a week) though I don't tend to work my abs more than 3 times a week. I do more difficult exercises though there are still loads I can't do. I do have defined abs (almost a six pack but I still have that layer of fat over the top which disguises it). So I definitely think it is worth doing - rather than just doing endless sit ups though get a video that works all parts of the abs in different ways and helps you to get the right form while you are doing it. Something like "I want those abs" by Tamilee Webb.

Oh btw I stilll have a jelly belly butits better than before.Haven't done much for a bout a 6 weeks as I was working o/t and al;so had problems with my scar then Leisure centre shut for Xmas