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!

how tall fizzbuzz?
am 5 7" ish, and w/ our trusty maclaren do alright
and dont think you are too tall, the buggy is too small!!

i cant beleive walking will get this flat, i really do miles and miles per week (er, summer i suppose) but will keep going..throw me a pedometer will ya..am off....

Now Saker does a lot of exercise!

Kidstrak was your tuck on the NHS?
GP offered me one but I have to be finished having kids and I want more

I go to physio-led postnatal exercises, and I've been told by the physio that my gap has closed (now 11 week postnatal). Does that mean that I can do Pilates now? I've done Pilates in the US when I was a member of a gym. No point in signing up to one now though! Does anyone have any recommendations for Pilates DVDs?
I too once prided myself on my small waist. Glad that I'm not alone though. I think that part of my problem is that the skin needs to shrink back more. Can that happen even this far on?

Have also been dreaming about tummy-tucks.....

I just have one that came in a set.

Re- the gap, I was told not to do any stomach exercises but after 3 1/2 years the GP said its not going to fix itself so I may as well try exercise.

no had to pay, but certainly worth every penny, big operation though and long recovery, i also walk everywhere and i'm quite fit, don't go to the gym anymore though! Re the gap i was told to excercise after 10weeks post c/s and when i could feel the gap at two width fingers apart. as i say sit ups do work and tone you up if you can be bothered doing them everyday for fast results other than that a few days every week of walking then doing a set of 50 sit ups before bed would help!

Nikkie-(sorry bit of a hijack) went to first body balance class today - not too sure what I make of it. Is it worth sticking with - came away thinking that it didn't seem to do much!

I can't do sit ups, had lot of problems with Sciatica when I was younger and sit ups always hurt my back.

When I go I feel all the muscles and feel like I've been stretched!

And how do I stop my neck hurting when I do sit ups?

You need to put your hands behind your head and then relax your head into them, let your hands totally take the weight of your head. Look at a point on the ceiling - so don't bend forward at the neck so you can see your toes but try and keep your neck in alignment with your spine. Concentrate on using your stomach muscles to pull your upper body up rather than lifting your upper body. It gets easier as your muscles get stronger. You might find it easier to put your feet up on something to start with -even as high as the sofa then it will be easier to help keep your back flat. Also always breathe out as you come up and in as you go down otherwise you train your muscles to stick out rather than lay flat. HTH. fun isn't it

much more effective if you use a swiss ball ime.

What's a swiss ball? Thanks for tip re neck, have reminded me I have to go and do them now

this

Ah...have one of those...what do you do with it?

Saker have just tried you tip, it is better, thanks, but also harder work. But how can you keep looking at ceiling when you go up high, or do oblique sit ups?

You don't have to go really high - just so you can feel your muscles working - you are just lifting your upper back and shoulders off the floor - you don't need to sit right up. Same with obliques - cross one leg over the other and lean up and towards it. I would really recommend getting a video/dvd - it helps to see someone else do it and it makes it less boring and gives you a beat to work to. Something like this - I haven't actually done this one but I have done one of her others and it is good. 15min two or three times a week should be enough.

Sorry should have said you will need to look more to the corner or the ceiling further away with obliques but one tip I was told was to imagine a grapefruit under your chin to stop you lifting your head too much.

If you look at this site and scroll down to preview the dvd called ab hits you can watch a clip and get an idea of what it's supposed to look like. (I do a lot of the dvds off this site but you have to get them from the USA and they are quite hard ones to begin with so I wouldn't particularly recommend them.)

Thank you Saker, would love to try one of those, unfortunately can never get near tv as teenage morons in house (see my thread under teenagers for full explaination), but all you have said has been really helpful.

lie on the swiss ball, knees bent, feet flat on floor, ball under lower back.
pull your tummy muscles in as far as you can
lift your upper body, you should feel your tummy muscles.

and for that bottom bit of tummy
lie face down on the swiss ball, roll it forwards until it is under your shins
then pull your knees up and under so you are rolling the ball forward and then back.

quite hard to explain!

I always look at the swiss balls in the gym but am too embarrassed to use one as I feel I would fall flat on my face or be wobbling all over the place - wonder if my birthing ball would work?? so I could practice at home?

yep, birthing ball is the same thing. really worth having a go. see if you can get one of the trainers at the gym to show you. they are the only stomach exercises that i have ever been able to do properly.