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Risks Associated with Being Overweight and What to Do About It

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If you're overweight, abdominal exercises won't reduce belly fat, or make you lose weight. However, these exercises can improve your muscular endurance and strengthen your core, which can alleviate lower back pain, and improve your posture, stability and athletic performance. (See References 1 and 2) When combined with cardio, full-body strength training and a healthy diet, you can lose weight. When your body and belly fat reduce, you'll be left with a well-defined tummy. Suck in Your Tummy If you're a newbie, starting slowly is essential, because being overweight increases your risk of lower back pain, and your balance and range of motion might be limited. (See References 3, p. 131) The abdominal hollowing exercise is a good starter …show more content…

You then raise your head and shoulder blades off the floor. A 30-degree angle is sufficient and prevents your hip flexors from taking over, according to the University of New Mexico. (See References 7) This is ideal for overweight individuals with poor range of motion or weak abdominals. After a one-second pause, lower back to the starting point. Raise Your Legs As your abdominals get stronger, exercise them in the captain's chair apparatus. A study by the American Council on Exercise showed that these exercises can effectively target your rectus abdominis and obliques. (See References 8) While holding your body up by your forearms, bend your knees and raise them up toward your chest. For an extra challenge, straighten your legs and raise them, or to target the sides of your waistline, raise your knees and add a twist, bringing them toward one shoulder. Key Concepts overweight abdominal exercises strengthening abdominal muscles working abdominal muscles overweigth strong abs References U.S. National Library of Medicine: The Effect of Abdominal Exercise on Abdominal Fat. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21804427] Harvard Health Publications: The Real-World Benefits of Strengthening Your Core [http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-real-world-benefits-of-strengthening-your-core] Clinical Exercise Physiology; Jonathan K. Ehrman, et al.

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