subject: Women Ab Workout Number One: Remove The Muffin Top! [print this page] It's one of the top reasons why women do an ab workout in the first place: the dreaded Muffin Top. For those of you not familiar with this term, it refers to the bulge of pudginess on either side that occurs when somebody squeezes into a pair of skinny jeans a little (or even a lot) too small for them. On a man, it's called "love handles".
Whatever you call it, you don't want it. Muffin tops draw exactly the WRONG kinds of stares from everyone around you. You want stares of envy, admiration and desire not snickering.
Okay, so what's there to do about it. Overall fat loss is going to be important, of course, but that's a big subject, so for our little article today I'll focus on an excellent exercise for this area.
It's called the side plank and it's my favorite exercise for the oblique muscles, which are the side abdominal muscles. You do know there's more to the abs than just the six-pack muscles in the front, right?
It's a fantastic exercise because it's absolutely safe (unlike many other side ab exercises) and won't make you get big and bulky like dumbbell side bends or other heavy resistance exercises will. Instead, since we're dealing with a very small amount of resistance (your body weight held at a challenging angle) for a sustained amount of time, we encourage muscle tone but not bulk.
Think "dancer's body", not "Arnold Schwarzenegger".
The other great thing is, it's free. No machines, equipment, or gym necessary.
Here's how it's done. Start by lying on your side with your hand directly under your shoulder. Then, simply push yourself up using that hand until your torso is straight. It should look kind of like you're trying to do a push-up, but on your side.
You then simply hold that position for a slow five count. Then let yourself back down. That's one. Repeat the process for more repetitions- try to work up to ten on each side.
If you have trouble holding yourself up on one arm, then you can rest on your elbow and forearm instead of your hand. The key here is holding the position for a sustained period of time.
Again, a sustained contraction like this creates a very small amount of resistance but requires local muscle endurance, which leads to a muscle toning effect without creating bulk. I don't know about you, but I try to AVOID bulking up my waistline.
So, in addition to reducing the refined carbs and working on a more consistent exercise program, be sure to add in some side planks to combat the Muffin Top. For women, it's an ab workout that can't be beat.
Women Ab Workout Number One: Remove The Muffin Top!
