5 Ab Workouts for Women – Tone That Tummy Down Now
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. One main reason is that they are just too busy taking care of their little one(s) to exercise or eat properly. Sound familiar?
Exercise after pregnancy doesn’t have to be challenging. It just so happens that as long as you own a DVD or Blu Ray player, most of these can be done right at home. We are going to talk about some good ab workouts for women, many that are all available on DVD/Blu Ray.
Zumba
You have likely heard of Zumba by now? Some 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 its fun moves and international music. You can buy it on DVD/Blu Ray, take a Zumba class, and it is even offered on gaming systems.
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 two 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.
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.
So, if you are looking for something different that 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/Blu Rays you can do at home.
Kathy Smith has a good one.
Yoga
Many people think that yoga is just a stress reliever (which, by the way, is great for a new mom of course). 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/Blu Rays and yoga classes that are offered all the time. Yoga is also offered on gaming systems, including the Wii Fit game.
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 states “If you are looking to strengthen your abdomen and pelvis as well as maintain good posture, then Pilates is for you”. Again, Pilates is offered in gyms, as well as on gaming systems and on DVD/Blu Ray.
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. While any type of swimming is going to be beneficial, two 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. 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.
Important Note: Remember when it comes to exercise after pregnancy, always have your doctor’s permission before beginning any kind of exercise routine.
