Toning the lower body -- suggestions?

[easyguy]

I have been working out quite frequently lately, and have been getting into decent shape. However, my lower body (the gut area) is still flabby if you know what I mean. At the end of every workout (most of the time it's just weights), I always do a bunch of crunches/situps to work on the chest area.

 

What would you suggest I do to tone my lower body/stomach area?

 

Thanks.

[lovestinks]

i think for that area the best thing to do are what my team calls "butt ups" u lay on ur back with ur feet and legs straight up in the air (u can cross ur legs if u want) and kinda kick them towards the sky MAKING SURE u are using ur lower stomach muscles to do the work.

 

also leg throws are good too for the whole stomach area. u lay on ur back legs straight up and have someone stand over top of u like near ur sholders. while u hold their ankles have them throw ur legs down. keep ur legs straight but dont let them touh the ground and brings them back up for ur partner to throw them again.

 

i hope u get the visuilization there

[stratguy620]

Doing sit ups wont do anything for your abs if you have any "flab" as you put it. You need to be eating less fat, and burning more. Try cutting out as much fat as possible from your diet, and taking part in some kind of cardio everyday or every other day

[guapa]

one thing i've learned is that we all have certain body proportions, some of us store our fat on our thighs and butts some of us on our stomachs.

 

i store mine on my butt, it was nice that my ex-bf really appreciated it, but i am always ashamed and analyzing it in the mirror and wishing it away smaller. i eat well, exercise regularly, when it tones it just sort of looks a little more perky but not really smaller...

 

point is that we all have different shapes and have to learn to love our bodies. sure, do some exercises (I'd really recommend yoga because it **really** puts a lot of emphasis on the core, though you should really do what you **love** to do and what makes you emotionally happy) but we all have to learn to look in the mirror and give ourselves love, otherwise we just kill ourselves with our own thoughts (I know **all** about that!!)

[JRM]

I'm a bit of a workout freak myself, and my weight training coach taught us a lot of workouts for various parts of the body.

 

First of all, doig situps wont do a thing for your chest. Great or abs, though.

 

You might want to try magnets. You lie on your back, hooking your feet and putting your hands behind your head, elbows facing upwards so that hey touch your knees. Have a partner push your feet down while your elbows keep in contact with your knees (hence the name Magnet) as you roll forward. Your back with be arched and your body will be kind of like a wheel rolling back and forth. These burn a hell of a lot, which means they're working.

 

Try this one too. Lie flat on your back with your arms crossed accross your chest. keeping your feet elevated about 6 inches off the ground, raise your legs up and bring your knees to your chest. Reextend your legs back out, and repeat, but keep your feet from contact with the ground.

 

Also, try to do at least 150 crunches a day. It might seem like a lot, it isn't, really. You don't have to go all the way up, just focus on getting your shoulders off the ground. Also make sure you contract your ab muscles when you go up, instead of using your body weight to throw yourself aoff the ground. This way you ensure the highest amount of fat burn and muscle definition.

 

A few other tips I can recommend are if you still drink soda, quit it COMPLETELY. All they are is water and sugar, and sugar transforms into fat. Fruit juice is much healthier, and better tasting anyway in my opinion.

 

Reguarding wieghts, make sure you're going with low wight and high reps (using light weights, but lift a high amount of times) as oposed to high wieght, low reps (very heavy weights lifted only a few times) at this point. This works more on definition and fat burn, whereas the latter gives you more mass, which is what you should shoot for after you get rid of the flab.

 

The suggestions lovestinks gave are great ones too.

 

Good luck.

[nexus532]

To sum it up all you ned tot do is RUN!

[easyguy]

...if you still drink soda, quit it COMPLETELY. All they are is water and sugar, and sugar transforms into fat. Fruit juice is much healthier, and better tasting anyway in my opinion.

 

I drink soda, but it's diet and sugar free, so I'm safe there. I have been drinking more water lately, though, so that's good, too.

 

Reguarding wieghts, make sure you're going with low wight and high reps (using light weights, but lift a high amount of times) as oposed to high wieght, low reps (very heavy weights lifted only a few times) at this point. This works more on definition and fat burn, whereas the latter gives you more mass, which is what you should shoot for after you get rid of the flab.

 

That's what I typically do -- high weight with less reps. It does in fact get easier the more you do them. I believe the term used for this is adaptation (?).

 

To sum it up all you ned tot do is RUN!

 

I actually did go for a jog yesterday, and even though my stomach hurt some after running, it felt good. I might do it again tomorrow (just around the neighborhood or something).

 

Cardio is the only thing that I am lacking in. I know there are lots of thing i can do that are cardio, but I must just be blanking out on them. I typically use the stationary bike for a while each day (with good resistance, so it's not easy). That and running are really all I've done. I used to play basketball and tennis all the time, but not so much nowadays. The weather is starting to get less sunny here, so playing outdoor sports can become difficult sooner or later.

 

Anyway, thanks for the advice, y'all. I appreciate it.

[o_-soad-_oo]

working out your stomach wont make u lose fat just make ur stomach harder u have to exercise your whole body with cardio an a proper diet