There are lots of different names for the excess weight around your midriff area – names like ‘muffin top’ and ‘love handles’ are used, and no matter how you step up your fitness regime, it can be very hard to shift this particular area of fat.
It is very important to your wellness and wellbeing that you do try to lose this weight, however, as weight around the midsection of your body is the most dangerous type of fat that you can store. It has a direct effect on your chances of suffering from heart disease or diabetes in later life.
The key to getting rid of this type of fat is to focus your workout on your oblique muscles – the abdominal muscles that run along the outside edge of your core. There are various different exercises that you can do to target your core. One is a standing oblique crunch, which should be done in three sets of 30 – 50 repetitions.
This is a great way to warm up your legs and your oblique muscles. To do these, stand up tall with your feet about hip-distance apart. Lift up your right leg and try to reach your right elbow. When you do this, switch and do the movement on the left hand side.
Once you have done this set, move on to a stability ball oblique crunch. If you are a beginner, place your feet against the bottom of a wall. Lie sideways across a stability ball, making sure that the ball is comfortably underneath your torso. Do a full-body stretch to start with and then cup up into a crunch so that you can feel your oblique muscle working. Release this position and then start again at the beginning and repeat. Once you have done 30 of these on one side, turn over and switch to the other side.
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