Fitness : Will Those Sit Ups Ever Pay Off!

Can sit-ups help me to get a flat stomach?

This is perhaps the most popular myth I have to deal with. By performing sit-ups or "crunches", you are helping to strengthen and firm up the rectus abdominus muscles, more commonly known as the "six-pack". But crunches will do nothing to reduce the amount of fat you have on your tummy. Abdominal fat is there because of excessive calorie consumption, so the only way to get rid of it is to burn off the calories by following a balanced diet and performing high-intensity exercise such as running, cycling, aerobics and swimming.

However, there is one trick that can help to give the appearance of a flatter stomach. Underneath the rectus abdominus lies a band of muscle called the transversus abdominus. Also referred to as the "corset muscle", the transversus abdominus helps to keep the back strong and compresses the abdomen. Exercising this muscle regularly can help to improve your posture and make the stomach appear flatter.

Suck in your stomach, so that your belly button is drawn towards your spine. While the stomach is sucked in, do not hold your breath, just keep breathing normally. You will know you are doing this properly when you begin to feel a minor burning sensation in the deep stomach. Once you've mastered it (the breathing can take some practice), you can do this exercise anywhere and it will help to flatten your stomach and improve your posture.

I've been running three miles three times a week, so why are my fitness and weight just the same?

In the early stages of a running regime, the improvements are encouraging. New runners who stick to their three miles, three times a week regime see a dramatic improvement in fitness levels and weight loss. Accompanied by a firmer bum and fewer flabby bits, the incentive to carry on is obvious.

But despondency can set in after a few months when the improvements seem to slow down. An exercise regime has to change if you want your fitness levels to keep improving and your wobbly bits to continue to disappear. The body adapts to anything you throw at it, and once it becomes accustomed to a certain intensity and regularity of exercise, improvements tend to plateau. If you want to keep on improving your rate of fitness and fat loss, you have to continue to up the intensity to avoid a plateau, a process referred to as "overload". You can increase the intensity either by running faster, further, up a hill or more often.