Does it burn fat to constantly hold in your tummy? I was thinking this is an exercise I can do anywhere, but if it’s not going to work I won’t go to the trouble.
Debbie
It won’t burn fat - but it will strengthen your abdominals etc. But it really won’t do too much unless you have a good diet and participate in other fat burning exercises (i.e walking, cycling, swimming etc.)
Hmmm…starting to sound like an infomercial here! hehe
There is a yoga âsana (pose) that is said to firm up and flatten the belly: pashcimottanâsana, the forward bend. It involves sitting on your sit-bones on the ground with your legs extended straight out in front of you. You bend forward, grasp your feet, stretch forward, and lower your face to your shins. And hold it for some time, breathing deep. You need a very flexible spine and hamstrings to achieve the full stretch, so it requires patient and consistent practice. In yoga class tonight I just relaxed into it while meditating and got my face all the way down. It felt so excellent. 
The regular practice of yoga, over time, charges up your metabolism to burn fat better.
Since I started going to yoga class twice a week, I’ve become slim and trim again.
You can’t burn fat in one particular place on your body. So, anything you do to burn fat not necessarily affect your tummy. (Where you lose fat first depends on your particulary physiology.)
You can strengthen and firm your abdominals, which will improve the shape and look of your tummy. It’s pretty easy to find information on abdominal exercises–library, bookstore, etc. Proper form is important, so if you can, see a fitness trainer or a physical therapist, or somebody who knows what they’re doing.
Good luck.
I guess this is a little bit of a hijack, but I don’t really mean it to be. A lot of people have the misconception that if you do a ton of situps/crunches/whatever they’ll lose all the fat on their stomachs and get those “washboard abs”. Doesn’t work that way. You can do all the crunches you want, but the results won’t necessarily be visible from the outside. Most of us flat out can not get that kind of form because we’re predispositioned genetically to have a bit of fat there. With the proper diet, this can be fixed. But, I for one am not willing to do it.
Basically, what I’m saying is that it probably won’t do you much good by itself. If I didn’t have a little bit of fat on my stomach(I can hear Chef laughing his ass off at that one) I’d have the 6-pack going. The muscle structure is there, the rest of me is not. Don’t know if this helps at all, but it’s some extra info for the teeming millions.
You can’t target where to burn fat. You can (1) reduce your overall body fat (2) build specific muscles to make fat areas look better.
Everyone so far is right. Most people think they can “spot reduce” fat in specific areas but that just not the way it works.
I say hire a personal trainer who can give you a good weight training program as well as a good nutrition program and get a complete hardbody instead of trying to just firm up your abdominals.
I just thought I should add that tummy fat is my favourite. Some old regs know.
HUGS!
Sqrl
What if you can barely bend past the right angle? Does it
do any good then? I’ve taken classes or otherwise tried
to study yoga, but I have the world’s tightest hamstrings and can’t even consider a forward bend.
javaman, don’t despair. There have been folks who were smashed up in auto wrecks, and after coming out of traction started yoga even though they could scarcely move a few inches in any direction. The famous yoga teacher Mr. Iyengar says: If you can move only one inch, you’re off to a good start. The latest Yoga Journal had an article by a woman who got trampled by a horse and they had to reconstruct her leg with a titanium rod in it. After the cast came off she tried yoga to help recovery and got so good at it she became a yoga teacher.
No matter where you’re at when you begin, you can make good progress as long as you keep at it consistently and have patience. Incrementally you will progress until you amaze yourself with your flexibility.
This is not as much of a hijack as it appears because I have found – after uselessly crunching my abs with weights – that yoga works best for that slim trim look. It stimulates your metabolism. Diet is important too – once I shifted to a low-fat vegan diet (with lemon juice every morning), and stayed on it permanently, the pounds just melted off while I firmed up. I’m 40 years old and my belly would flab out for sure if I didn’t keep this up.
Tell me Debbie, you got this advice from that infomercial selling a device that straps around your tummy and buzzes if you let the muscles out, right? I saw that ad.
This type of targeting will not work to burn fat, especially localized fat burning. It may play a role in flattening your tummy by strengthening your abs. I’m not entirely convinced, but it seems that if you keep your muscles tightened vs letting them sag loose for extended periods of time (i.e. all day while working at the computer, etc), it may help fight the flabbies. Basic toning. For a brief bit I tried tensing my abs while doing things like driving or working on computer, but it’s hard to keep focusing on that and whatever else I’m doing.
If you just want your belly to sag a little less, give it a shot. However, you’ll see better results putting in more effort - go figure.
I’m too lazy for more effort.
Aglarond, you have fat on your stomach?
Liposuction is really the only way to remove fat from a specific area.