Stomach Flattening Exercises For Seniors

Yoga Exercises That Target Belly Fat

Yoga is all about control, breathing, and stretching the body within the breath. This may not seem like it does much for the body, but once you have completed a few of the exercises, you will definitely begin to notice a difference. Improved blood flow and increased flexibility are two of the most common benefits. After a week or two, you will begin to experience firmer, more toned muscle tissue as well.

Tadasana

The Mountain Poses, or Tadasana, is a great way for improving circulation and warm-up. It targets the core and starts to get your body ready for other types of exercise.

Stand up with your feet together. Stretch your spine up and place your hands at your sides. Bring your hands to the front of your body, palms together and stretching your arms forward. As you breathe in, raise your hands above your body and reach toward the stars. If you can slowly lift your heels so you can stand on your toes. Hold for 30 seconds and release as you exhale. Repeat as many times as you feel comfortable with.

Padahastasana

The Padahastasana, or Standing Forward Bend, benefits the heart and other organs in the chest and abdomen. It reduces stress and anxiety. This pose targets the abdominal muscles causing them to relax and soften. This encourages proper function of the organs within the abdominal cavity and may actually help to calm many health issues related to the stomach and intestines.

Paschimottanasan

Sit-Ups for Belly Fat in Elderly Men

A Strong Core Is Essential To Your Wellbeing

If you want to stay active for the rest of your life, you’ll need a strong core.

A strong core helps you prevent injury and falls, maintain good posture, and move freely and easily. A strong core allows you to perform all the physical activity and daily tasks you enjoy, such as doing laundry, playing golf, and walking about your neighborhood.

Today we shared five exercises and three videos to help strengthen your core. All of these exercises can be modified to suit your activity level.

When you begin any fitness routine, always speak to your physical therapist first. Try to make your Snug Snug check-in part of your new workout routine, scheduling your check-in after exercise. If your friend or family member opted to get daily notifications, they’ll know you’re safe and that you did your core work for the day!

How To Flatten Your Stomach If You Are Over 50 Years Old

Fifty may be the new 40, but convincing your abdominal muscles of that may take some work. Although it’s possible to flatten your abs over 50, you do lose muscle mass at the rate of about 3 to 8 percent each decade after the age of 30 and at a rate even faster than that once you’ve passed 60. With that comes an increasing tendency to accumulate fat, especially around your middle.

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The good news is that muscle â at any age â does eventually respond to exercise. Additionally, the benefits of flattening the abdominal muscles for people who are 50-plus years old are far greater than cosmetic. Building abdominal muscle and reducing fat around your middle also helps to protect you from developing insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes.

Tip

Before you get started, take the measurements around your middle and record them in a convenient spot. Every week or two, take and record them again. Stay accountable.

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The Best Core Exercises

A much better approach to strengthening your core is working several core muscle groups at the same time, just the way you would naturally if you were lifting something or climbing. For older adults, Boehm recommends three exercises in particular:

Bridges. “Anyone can do a bridge. You start in a recumbent position on your back and then lift and hold your buttocks off the ground,” Boehm says. “It’s effective because you create rigidity from the rib cage to the pelvis and all the way from the belly button around to the back. The whole region becomes solid, and it creates a contraction of all the muscle groups, like a corset.”

Planks. “Planks create contractions of the core, arm, and shoulder muscles as you stay in a push-up position. The key is staying as stiff as you can, like a wooden plank,” Boehm says.

Opposite arm and leg raise. This exercise gets you on your hands and knees. “As you stretch out the opposite arm and leg, you’re contracting your core and the muscles in the other arm and leg as they support you,” Boehm points out. “Movements should be slow and controlled don’t throw your arm and leg out as fast as you can.”

Teaching Old Abs New Tricks

You might have to work around some age-related limitations, such as limited flexibility and back or joint problems, but the fundamentals of core exercises for 50-year-olds are still:

• Situps for working the lower abdomen
• Crunches for working the upper abdomen
• Planks for a full-core workout
• Scissors for the lower and mid-abdomen
• Torso twists for stretching and flexibility

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Why Is A Strong Core So Important

As mentioned, it pays to look beyond aesthetics and the idea of a ‘flat stomach’ when building up core strength it’s also a crucial factor in maintaining good overall health and mobility of your body. Some of the strongest people in the world dont have six-packs, but they can lift a lot or perform tremendous feats of athleticism, describes Klika.

A strong core is a major factor in staying free from injury particularly in the hips and knees, says Michelle Arent, director of training and conditioning at Rutgers Center for Health and Human Performance in the US.

However, and this is important, the core is more than the muscles running alongside the front of your stomach. In fact, the core itself is a 3-dimensional ‘box’ shape that includes:

• Your abdominals
• Your lower back muscles

So, when we talk about building a strong core, we’re actually talking about building a strong ‘trunk’. Capice?

Exercises To Help Lower Abs

The goal of these exercises is to target key parts of the lower abs and strengthen them to improve posture, stability, and balance in daily activity.

Most lower ab exercises can be done without extra equipment. However, some of the moves listed below do require sliders or towels.

1. Mountain Climbers

Mountain climbers work your entire body as well as your core. They are a form of cardio as well meaning, they increase your heart rate when you do them.

To get started, place yourself in a plank position. This means elevating your body off the ground with your arms . Remember to keep your body straight and your pelvis tucked slightly. Your arms should be shoulder-width apart with both palms on the floor. Your legs should be extended behind you, feet together.

Once in this position, slowly move your right knee to your chest then back again. Next, draw your left knee to your chest and back again. This is one repetition .

Continued

Increase your pace and move quickly to exercise the rectus abdominis a pair of muscles that runs down your abdomen and forms the bulk of the abdominal muscles.

You should repeat this exercise several times for optimum results. Professionals recommend 15 to 20 reps on each side for beginners.

2. Lying Leg Raises

This exercise strengthens your lower abs but doesnt require you to hold yourself up while you do so. Instead, lie on your back with legs extended, feet together. Rest the palms of your hands on either side of your body.

3. Crunches

Continued

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The Best Stomach Exercises For Seniors

Fact Checked

Sedentary adults tend to lose muscle mass as they age, which can lead to a greater risk of falling or sustaining an injury by the time they are in their senior years. Performing abdominal exercises that focus on the stability muscles, particularly the transversus abdominis and the side obliques, can help to improve alignment, balance and flexibility. The result is increased strength and agility, which allows seniors to stay active as they get older. Try simple ab exercises geared to seniors, like the belly button squeeze, seated tummy twist and pelvic tilt, and yoga moves like cat and cobra. Before you work your abs, do a five to 10-minute dynamic warm up like walking or light cycling.

Modified Side Plank Crunch

Perform 10-12 crunches on one side, then switch sides and repeat.

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Your Core Gives You Good Posture

Think of your core as the frame that holds up the rest of your body. Harvard Health warns that a weak core makes you much more prone to slouching and poor posture.

As you age, you naturally lose muscle. To combat this lost muscle mass, it’s important to work core exercises into your overall exercise routine.

More Core Strengthening Exercises For Seniors

In addition to these exercises, you can also try incorporating yoga and tai chi into your weekly exercise routine.

These ancient forms of exercise have been shown to improve mobility, strength, and stability in older adults, while also improving mood and outlook on life.

One 2010 study even showed that seniors participating in a yoga program for 12 weeks reduced their fear of falling by 6 percent, while also increasing their balance by 4 percent and improving their hip flexibility by 34 percent !

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Why Strengthen Your Core

Now, you might be wondering how doing ab exercises is going to prevent you from falling which is one of the leading causes of fatal injuries in older adults .

Stay with me, and youll discover that your core actually consists of much more than just your six-pack muscles. It basically includes almost your entire torso, from the front of your stomach and wrapping all the way around your lower back.

This includes the rectus abdominus , the internal and external obliques , the transverse abdominus , the hips, and the lower back.

As you can imagine, these core muscles do a lot more than just look good.

When you strengthen your core, you essentially strengthen your ability to do almost any type of movement.

Since the core supports and stabilizes your spine, youll find that with a strong core it becomes much easier to bend, reach, and twist. In turn, this helps you become less susceptible to balance-related falls.

Studies confirm this, showing that gaining core strength through pilates-style exercises can help increase stability and mobility, keeping you fall-free for longer .

As a bonus, you might also discover you have less low back pain, since your disks and joints will be cushioned by a nice wall of muscle, which relieves pressure from your joints.

Prioritize Core Strength After 60

According to AARP, falls are one of the leading contributors to death from unintentional injuries among adults 65 and older. The problem is a decreased ability to remain balanced, which relies on the neuromuscular, proprioceptive, vestibular and visual systems, according to researchers of the 2014 Journal of Aging and Physical Activity study, who suggest that core strengthening is one of the most effective and easiest ways to improve balance and prevent falls.

In fact, core-strengthening may be more effective than total-body strengthening for improving stability, according to authors of a 2015 study in Journal of Physical Therapy Science. The researchers divided 30 older adults into two groups, one of which performed standard strengthening exercises, while the other group performed core-strengthening exercises. After eight weeks, researchers evaluated weight distribution and stability in both groups and found that only the core-strengthening group showed significant improvement.

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Core Exercises For Seniors: Full Workout Videos

If you’re looking to strengthen your core, YouTube offers a number of great workouts to follow along with. Here are several core workouts that include great exercises for seniors:

New Research Has Found One Of The Best Exercises For Seniors To Blast Belly Fat

Tai Chi can help reduce your waistline as well as any conventional exercises, without high-impact movements

When it comes to figuring out which exercise to do to lose weight, you might be recommended dynamic, intense exercises such as burpees or sprinting. However, although these exercises are great for what they do, these are very high-impact ways to work out not always ideal for seniors, or people embarking on a fitness journey for the first time.

Rather than focus on the best exercises for weight loss you might want to try the road less travelled. A recent study found Tai Chi, that very slow, peaceful, low-intensity martial arts practice, is great for reducing the waistline, according to a recent study of seniors and middle-aged adults.

The research, published by the University of California, studied 543 participants which were randomly assigned to three different groups: one control group with no exercise, conventional aerobic exercise and strength training, and a tai chi group. At the end of the 12-week study, the results showed Tai Chi “mirrors the beneficial effects of conventional exercise” resulting in just as big of a decrease in waist circumference.

In addition, Tai Chi is great for developing coordination, maintaining mobility, and acts as an isometric exercise as you hold positions with bent legs, taxing your core, glutes and hamstrings.

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Your Core Helps You Keep Your Balance

Falls are one of the top causes of injury among older adults. If you feel a bit unsteady on your feet or walk with a cane, strengthening your core muscles can help improve your balance.

As described by Harvard Health, strengthening your core allows the rest of your body to move more effectively. By making core exercises part of your routine, you’ll create a stable trunk and improve your balance.

Why Do Seniors Gain Belly Fat

The weight gain/loss formula for seniors is much the same as it is for anyone else. You gain weight when you consume more calories than you burn throughout the day. As a person gets older, they tend to slow down and become less active. They exercise less and try to relax more. For women, that poses a problem. After menopause, their body begins to function somewhat differently. Hormone production decreases and they have less energy as their metabolism begins to slow down.

Both men and women can suffer from genetic traits that cause them to gain weight around their midsections. Body type also has a lot to do with how a person gains and loses weight. Some people tend to gain weight around their hips and lower back, others in the abdomen and waist. As a person ages, the weight becomes harder to lose. Part of the reason for this is that the older we get, the more the body tries to conserve the fat that it has. Fat holds heat and acts as a cushion around the organs. The problem is, too much fat of either kind can increase a person’s risk of many of the most severe forms of disease known. This includes cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s.

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Best Exercises To Tighten Your Abs And Firm Your Core After 60

Core and abs are two words that get thrown around more than reality show drama. They are, in fact, different. Here are three things to know:

• Exercising one does not necessarily engage the other.
• Nothing automatically strengthens your core .
• People can be rotten to the core, and no exercise can fix that.

Lets start with the first point.

Why Core Strength Training Is Important For Older Adults

In the wellness industry, a strong core is often glorified for reasons of vanity. However, this narrow view completely overlooks all the health benefits of core training. In reality, core strength is essential for posture, balance, and overall health.

To correct these misconceptions, let’s start by reviewing what your core does for you.

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Gain Control Live Happier

Even if youve never fallen before or arent too worried about it at present, the CDC states that as adults age, their fear of falling tends to increase .

Now, this can be a huge psychological stressor, because who wants to be worried about their body failing them all the time? And it obviously can impact your quality of life.

When seniors start to fear falling, they usually start to avoid social activities, which can result in depression and feelings of isolation.

My goal in providing these exercises is to make sure you become the opposite of these statistics and go on to live a happy, strong, mobile life free from the fear of falling.