Target: stomach & abs

What kind of exercise are you doing now? Do you have a gym membership? What kinds of cardio do you like? What's your diet like?

I can definitely give you some tips but it really helps to have a better idea of what's going on now and what you like, so I don't give you like... a plan that involves swimming if you are afraid of water or something.

My mom uses a large ball to exercise and that helped her tone her stomach. They actually have a book that goes along with it and it tells you what exercises to use in order to tone your stomach.

Since you do nothing right now, basically any exercise will improve your midsection.

To burn fat, 3 30 minute sessions of cardio would be great - running would be perfect for this. Walking/jogging is totally fine too.

To specifically target the muscles, pilates is great for the core, and so is yoga. There are places that have specific core yoga classes, although any good yoga studio will stress proper alignment and therefore will stress engaging core muscles at all times. If you do either yoga or pilates, i'd recommend doing at least a few classes at a studio so you can get the form down.

If you just stick to doing some cardio and want to do some exercises at home, some great ones are:
- plank: assume a pushup position but with your forearms on the ground, elbows under shoulders, hands close together (so your forearms make a triangle). Use your core muscles to hold your body completely straight (ie in a plank-like position)
- side plank: Lie on your right side. Put your right elbow under your right shoulder and have your hand going perpendicular and forward from your body. Use your core muscles to raise your body off the ground such that only your right forearm and feet are on the ground.
- Back extension: Lie on the ground with your arms at your sides. Use your back muscles to lift your upper body off the ground. Variations of this include putting your hands at your forehead and holding them straight ahead of you. You can also try raising your right arm and your left leg, then your left arm and left leg. It is key to work your back muscles if you're doing ab work to prevent a hunched over look and back pain. Also, sometimes the little "paunch" that people get is from bad posture which is from not enough back strength.
- For definition, crunches on a stability ball are great because you get a wide range of motion.

^what she said!

I do plank and situps while I'm watching TV

Another great exercise to use with side plank is to put your hand that's not on the ground behind your head [like you do when you do situps] and bring that elbow in the air down to your hand that's resting on the ground, kind of a side-crunch thing. Looooove those and you can really feel it in your side

also, if you have a stability ball, put your ankles on it and go into the push up position and hold for 10-15 seconds, once you're really good at that, slowly roll the ball up so your knees are at your chest, try to keep the rest of your body in that stable plank position. [these are called ball tucks and they are hard but very very rewarding!]

oo... is it worth buying one of these gym balls?
I've always been tempted as I have no space in my room to work out only a long stretch.. not space to move from one side to anoter..

they are so worth it. you can do so much with them.

^YES, buying one will be the best investment for your abs that you'll ever make!!!

You can just stick it in your closet when you're not using it and even just sitting on it instead of your computer chair will help build core strength

do they come in different sizes?.. or is it just one universal size?

They come in different sizes. If you're 5'6" or under, you should get a 55 cm one. If you're taller, you can get a 65 cm ball.

It doesn't matter hugely if you're in the middle region... I can use a 65 cm one and I'm just under 5'6" but I prefer a smaller one.

^smaller ones also force your core to provide greater stability

A stability ball and an average sized medicine ball is excellent for abs. You can literaly do hundreds of workouts with a medicine ball and stability ball.

A stability ball is larger and is what you would use to sit on, lay on ect



Wheras a medicine ball, is a weighted ball you would use to increase resistance to your workout, which is being held in the womens hands

^he said it better

1. bicycle crunches
2. planks
3. reverse crunches

^ all i need