If you are 45+ with a toned midriff ...

[hippospot]

please can you tell me what exercise you do :)

I'm a healthy weight, slim and reasonably active, but I'd like to tone/flatten my tummy if possible. Any tips?

I'd like to do Pilates but would one class a week make any difference? It's all I can afford (time and money).

I by no means have a toned midriff and probably won't ever die to having 2 c-sections but I have found that running, even regular short distances, has done wonders for my tummy.
Interested to see what others say 😊

What about planks? They’re good for the core aren’t they? I can only do 20 secs at the mo though, I’m trying to do it every day (at the moment I am very un-toned!)

I'm 44 and a couple of years ago I achieved this for a special holiday and I wanted to look good in a bikini.
I cut out bread/ booze / processed food / caffeine / sugar and salt . That helped with the bloat. Then I built up stomach crunches day by day and practised the plank multiple times a day.
I did achieve a toned tummy and midriff and looked great but tbh it was so hard and I was cutting out things I enjoyed from time to time .
I just buy tummy toning swimming costumes now

Planks, run, circuits with weights and walking and of course watching the calories, but to be fair I’ve always exercised since my teens (47 now) so I think I’ve naturally a very strong core.

I do Vinyassa yoga five times a week. I have to work really hard to maintain my fitness as I started menopause early after chemo.

I plank and walk miles very quickly!

I walk the dog and muck out my horses every day
and have done this for over 10 years. I am 55

48
Run 3 or 4 times a week: total 20 - 30 miles. Includes speed training.
Swim twice a week: total 2k. All front crawl.
Maybe a boot camp - very casual in the village but helps with core.
Maybe a cycle ride

It is toned; you can see abs BUT I do have loose baggy skin from kids. Putting on weight makes that look smoother.

Weights! Strength and conditioning type weight training- you use your core in most weight exercises and I’ve noticed a massive difference!

Having a good stomach is all about not carrying much fat there, so you can see any muscle.

Unfortunately I can't run (repetitive injury) but I will try doing the plank. Any idea how long/often?

Would bodypump classes help?

Loads of weights, HIIT, planks, crunches etc. Also ... sorry, this if is too much information but having a very flat stomach does depend a bit for me on the time of the month but even more so whether things are regular! I find drinking lots of water and eating a mainly plant based diet helps with the latter.

Have a look on YouTube, there are loads of 10 min daily exercises for a flatter stomach. I follow a few different ones. I generally find the core strength ones better than abs ones. But like pp said, you also need to reduce fat as well, otherwise you just get muscle on top of your fat!

Press ups are good, even rubbish ones.

I run, sprints and long runs, hill running and trails. I also weight train and do planks/ ab work with weights, and do intermittent fasting.

50-60 lengths of swimming every week.
Badminton once a week.
Walking dogs twice a day and walk everywhere else as much as possible.
Active job.
Healthy eating, no large portions, rarely snack, lots of water.
Early 50's.

I'm 47 and last year when I was 46 I decided I wanted to lose weight (over Christmas and the New Year/Feb-March period) but definitely on the stomach area.

I reduced carbs / bread/ sugar and salt but didn't cut them out completely. Think - having half a potato or halving a rice/pasta portion and having blueberries/yogurt/granola for breakfast but also toast with peanut butter/marmite as treat breakfast or the odd cake etc. I fast walked approx 10-15 minutes (just so you're a bit out of breath) every morning and tried to walk for 30 minutes at lunch time.
Also did vinyasa flow yoga 1 x a week. This period coincided with the Christmas period which tied in with work - but I tried to ensure that if we had our Christmas meal then I was more careful the day after, or I ate not a huge amount the time of the Christmas meal.

I lost weight all over but more from my stomach and thighs/hips - I dropped a dress size but I should have kept it up.

I just find if you deprive yourself of treats, alcohol etc and are completely manic about a strict diet etc you'll just fall off the wagon.

I am 43, and do pretty much the same as @Blueandredandblue but without the weight training (I'd like to start that though) and instead of intermittent fasting I low carb most of the time. It is a lifestyle change and very intense / hard work.

Isn't there a famous expression that abs are made in the kitchen not in the gym?

The point is that to have a toned midriff you need very low body fat first and this is more important than actual gym training (which helps) but to a lesser degree.

Also...some people just aren’t built to have a flat stomach (me!). The only time I managed it was being very strict with diet (esp carbs) and lots of weight training. My
body fat got pretty low and stomach finally showed muscle definition as a result but my face looked gaunt and tbh (like pp with control swimsuits now ) I concluded that it wasn’t worth the effort! I was looking at photos of myself as a kid and I always had a tummy, though I was far from fat. Sometimes it’s better to make peace with your body and stick to being a healthy weight, eating well and doing exercise you truly enjoy. Enjoy the bits of your body you like instead of constantly battling to change the ones you don’t!

I'm pretty toned (I'm 49 and run/bodypump/weights most days) but I have done the Gillian Michael's 6-week/6 pack DVD twice before holiday and it worked brilliantly - if you like the 6 pack look (which I do!) . Think it's only 20 or 30 minutes long and you need to it 5 times a week, from memory. But I never keep it up long enough to actually keep that look! And I think your body fat needs to be pretty low to show muscles like that, too...