How to tone up your stomach without lying flat on your back

Research has now confirmed that crunches are one of the least effective ways to exercise the stomach. This is because crunches fail to work all the “core muscles”. The core muscles are the muscles in the back and stomach region which work together to assist the body in virtually all aspects of movement, they include; the erector spinae, the transverse abdominals, the internal and external obliques and the rectus abdominis. Crunches only utilise the rectus abdominis which is actually the weakest of all the core muscles.

To build a strong stomach that will look flat in appearance and provide good support for the spine you need to perform stomach exercises which utilize all the core muscles. There are many forms of exercise which utilize several core muscles all within the one routine. For the majority of these exercises you don’t even have to lie down to perform them. This means you can also say goodbye to neck and jaw tension that often accompanies crunches.

One of the most effective ways to exercise all of the core muscles is to take up Belly dancing. During a Belly dancing routine you will probably work muscles that you never knew you had! Belly dancing involves repetitive isolation movements that work deeply, but gently on the stomach muscles.

Many yoga practices also utilize all the core muscles within the one workout. This is because the poses in yoga typically require a good deal of balance. Our core muscles are what provide us with the stability to hold a balance pose. A lot of yoga poses employ the use of our deepest stomach muscles both the transverse abdominals and the internal obliques. You could also try Tai Chi or martial arts because the movements in these routines also require the use of deep core muscles to provide stability to movements.

Striptease workouts are a novel new way to effectively work the core muscles. Workouts like the “Carmen Electra aerobic striptease series” incorporate many isolation exercises that work deep core muscles. The good thing about this style of workout is that you can fit all your tonal and cardio work into a short period of time. Pole dancing is also another good option because you definitely require strong core muscles to swing around a pole in mid air!

Pilates is one of the exercise routines where you often do have to lie down to perform many of the exercises, but it involves some highly effective core muscle work. Pilates, in particular is a good way to exercise the deepest abdominal muscle group, the transverse abdominal muscle. In virtually every Pilates exercise you will be told to pull your bellybutton to your spine. Keep this up throughout the entire workout and you will have given your stomach a great workout.

If you like to workout at the gym a great way to exercise all the stomach muscles is to support yourself with your upper body on a pull up device and then bring your knees to your chest. Exercising in a hanging position like this means you have to really work all the stomach muscles to perform the exercise. Also enquire about what abdominal exercises can be done with the fit ball because many of these work deep core muscles.

So if you haven’t already given up your 100 crunch a day routine in favour of some of the new more effective ways of exercising the stomach, today is the day to start! If you perform these exercises regularly you will help keep your back healthy and will improve the appearance of your stomach.