Attempting to lose the old belly "pooch" after having a baby can
be challenging for many new moms. Why? Of course there can be many
reasons, but one main reason is that they are just too darn busy taking
care of their little one(s) to exercise, eat properly, get to the gym,
etc. Sound familiar? Exercise after pregnancy doesn't have to be
challenging. It just so happens that as long as you own a DVD player,
most of these can be done right at home. In this article, we are going
to talk about some good ab workouts for women, many that are all
available on DVD.
1. Zumba. Many people have heard of Zumba by now but many may still not know exactly what type of workout it is. Zumba is a latin-inspired cardio dance workout that includes the merengue, salsa, cumbia and hip hop moves, to name a few. Zumba has really become a popular form of exercise due to it's fun moves and international music. You can buy it on DVD, take a Zumba class, and it is even offered on 3 major gaming systems (the Wii, XBox and PS3). I, personally, became hooked on Zumba and I now do it all the time. I am starting to see those sexy lines in my upper abs that I have never seen before, not even before having my 2 children! How is it a good ab workout? Zumba involves a lot of hip and ab movement in it, so it really gets your abs working.
2. Belly Dancing. Belly dancing is a great form of exercise after pregnancy because it has nice gentle movements, that let you ease back into working out again. These are good ab workouts for women because many of the exercises are geared towards the belly area... hence the name belly dancing. So, if you are looking for something different that can make you feel sexy as you do it, and also gets your abs in shape, belly dancing may just be what you're looking for. There are classes you can take at gyms, or DVDs you can do at home (Kathy Smith has a good one).
3. Yoga. Many people think that yoga is just a stress reliever (which, by the way, is great for a new mom of course), but in reality it is great for toning your body, including your abs. Think of strength training with weights, and now think of strength training using your own body weight. Essentially, that's what yoga is because you are using your own body weight as resistance. Although yoga is great for toning your overall body, it has moves that really work your abdominals. Try it out if you haven't already; there are many yoga DVDs and yoga classes that are offered all the time. Yoga is also offered on gaming systems, including the Wii Fit game.
4. Pilates. Pilates workouts are good ab workouts for women as the exercises are mainly targeted at the abdominals. This is another great exercise after pregnancy because it contains slower, but effective, movements for toning your body. An article on WebMD.com states "Many types of people, at many levels of fitness, who have begun doing Pilates exercises say they've seen improvements in range of motion, flexibility, circulation, posture, and abdominal strength". Again, Pilates is offered in gyms, as well as on gaming systems and on DVD.
5. Swimming. You have seen the bodies on swimmers, right? And have you noticed their abs? In one word, beautiful. Many people don't realize just how good of a workout swimming is, it is great for strength (from the resistance of the water), as well as a good cardio workout. What is perfect is that you don't get all of that icky sweating that comes along with a workout that is "on land". Swimming is a great abdominal workout because everything is coming from the core. In an article on abclocal.go.com, a swim coach by the name of T.J. Fry says "They are going to be using their abs to maintain the rotation, to maintain a straight line or a stable body form but they're also going to use their back a lot and that is the v-shape that you see with a lot of those swimmers". While any type of swimming is going to be beneficial, 2 good types of strokes for the abs are the butterfly and freestyle.
1. Zumba. Many people have heard of Zumba by now but many may still not know exactly what type of workout it is. Zumba is a latin-inspired cardio dance workout that includes the merengue, salsa, cumbia and hip hop moves, to name a few. Zumba has really become a popular form of exercise due to it's fun moves and international music. You can buy it on DVD, take a Zumba class, and it is even offered on 3 major gaming systems (the Wii, XBox and PS3). I, personally, became hooked on Zumba and I now do it all the time. I am starting to see those sexy lines in my upper abs that I have never seen before, not even before having my 2 children! How is it a good ab workout? Zumba involves a lot of hip and ab movement in it, so it really gets your abs working.
2. Belly Dancing. Belly dancing is a great form of exercise after pregnancy because it has nice gentle movements, that let you ease back into working out again. These are good ab workouts for women because many of the exercises are geared towards the belly area... hence the name belly dancing. So, if you are looking for something different that can make you feel sexy as you do it, and also gets your abs in shape, belly dancing may just be what you're looking for. There are classes you can take at gyms, or DVDs you can do at home (Kathy Smith has a good one).
3. Yoga. Many people think that yoga is just a stress reliever (which, by the way, is great for a new mom of course), but in reality it is great for toning your body, including your abs. Think of strength training with weights, and now think of strength training using your own body weight. Essentially, that's what yoga is because you are using your own body weight as resistance. Although yoga is great for toning your overall body, it has moves that really work your abdominals. Try it out if you haven't already; there are many yoga DVDs and yoga classes that are offered all the time. Yoga is also offered on gaming systems, including the Wii Fit game.
4. Pilates. Pilates workouts are good ab workouts for women as the exercises are mainly targeted at the abdominals. This is another great exercise after pregnancy because it contains slower, but effective, movements for toning your body. An article on WebMD.com states "Many types of people, at many levels of fitness, who have begun doing Pilates exercises say they've seen improvements in range of motion, flexibility, circulation, posture, and abdominal strength". Again, Pilates is offered in gyms, as well as on gaming systems and on DVD.
5. Swimming. You have seen the bodies on swimmers, right? And have you noticed their abs? In one word, beautiful. Many people don't realize just how good of a workout swimming is, it is great for strength (from the resistance of the water), as well as a good cardio workout. What is perfect is that you don't get all of that icky sweating that comes along with a workout that is "on land". Swimming is a great abdominal workout because everything is coming from the core. In an article on abclocal.go.com, a swim coach by the name of T.J. Fry says "They are going to be using their abs to maintain the rotation, to maintain a straight line or a stable body form but they're also going to use their back a lot and that is the v-shape that you see with a lot of those swimmers". While any type of swimming is going to be beneficial, 2 good types of strokes for the abs are the butterfly and freestyle.
As we talked about here, all of these types of exercises are good ab workouts for women,
but you also need to eat a healthy diet and do cardio and strength
training on a regular basis. By combining all of these types of workouts
on a regular basis, you will have both strength and cardio workouts.
Remember, when it comes to exercise after pregnancy, always have your doctor's permission before beginning any kind of exercise routine.
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