sioncolenso

home

sion colenso

press

members

contact

Summer six-pack - Jennai Cox, Fitness Editor

THERE is probably no area of the body that preoccupies us more than the midriff. The want of a flat stomach is shared equally between men and women, particularly in summer. Shorter tops that show bellies are fashionable and trousers that come up higher than the hips are not. One way or another, stomachs are on show. The main mistake made by those trying to trim their waists is doing exercise that only targets that area, Sion Colenso, a personal trainer, says. Reducing weight exclusively in one part of the body is not possible. Instead, we should be aiming to lose fat all over and tone up the body parts as required.

To do this, it is necessary to cut calorie consumption and increase expenditure. Eating less-prepared food, keeping fruit handy for when hunger arises and doing any sort of physical activity above what you already do can all have dramatic results.

Once your weight is reduced and the fat around the stomach lessened, and provided that you have developed a base level of fitness, you can begin working on toning the abdominal muscles by doing exercises that target them.

Reverse crunch:  Lie on your back with your arms alongside your body, your legs raised and knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Curl your pelvis up towards your ribcage until your hips come off the floor. Do two sets of 20-30 repetitions.

Seated crunch:  Sit on a bench or step with your hands behind you, holding on for support. Your legs should be outstretched and feet just off the floor. Curl your knees in towards your chest and extend your legs back to the start position. Do two sets of 20-30 repetitions. 

STRONG abdominal muscles that pull the stomach in do more than just make your midriff look good, according to Sion Colenso, a personal trainer. “They will also improve your posture and ease the strain taken by your lower back if you sit a lot at a desk or in a car,” he said.

Performing abdominal exercises regularly will help to develop greater strength in the muscles that support your torso and enhance your performance in physical activities. “Most sports require good balance and stability and strong abdominals will improve both,” Colenso said.

Medicine ball crunch: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Holding a medicine ball, extend your arms up behind your head just above the floor. Keep your arms straight as you curl your torso aiming to point the ball upwards. Do two sets of 20-30 repetitions.

Medicine ball leg raise: Holding a 3-5kg medicine ball, lie on your back with your arms behind your head. Raise your legs and arms simultaneously until they meet, then lower the arms and legs back down to just above the floor while pulling in your abdominal muscles to maintain good posture and support the back. Do two sets of 15-20 repetitions.

A FEW years ago it was common to see exercisers lying on their backs, hands behind the heads, repeatedly yanking up their necks in pursuit of a flatter stomach. More store is now placed on technique — it is not so much how many sit-ups you do but whether they are done correctly.

“Because we spend so much time sitting and hardly exercise the muscles in our abdomen, they are very weak in most people,” Sion Colenso said, which means that exercises to strengthen them, are invariably performed wrongly. “People have such weak stomach muscles they tend to use their lower backs to complete the exercise, which can give curvature of the lower spine.”

The plank: Lie flat on your stomach, then rise so only your forearms and toes are in contact with the floor. Pull in your abdominal muscles to maintain a straight back and hold this position for as long as you can, building up to two minutes.

Oblique leg extension: Lie on your back with your legs raised and knees bent at a 90-degree angle, with your hands at the sides of your head. Curl up your torso, twisting your right shoulder towards your left knee while extending your right leg. Return to start position and repeat on other side. Do two sets of30 repetitions.  

Medicine ball obliques: Holding ashoulders off the floor and twist to the right, so the medicine ball is held just outside your right knee. Lower to the start position and repeat on the left. Do two sets of 15-20 repetitions.

Oblique balancer: Lie on your back with your legs straight and raised off the floor, your arms by your sides and your shoulders raised. Curl your torso to the right, extending your hands as far to the side of your right foot as possible, before lowering back to the start position. Repeat on the left side. Do two sets of 20-30 repetitions WHEN teaching his clients new abdominal exercises to improve the function and appearance of their stomach area, Sion Colenso, a personal trainer, places greater emphasis on posture than repetition. “I want people to get into as good a position as possible. Getting it right early on makes a huge difference to everything else that you do,” he said.

Because their abdominal muscles are often weak from underuse, Colenso’s clients feel uncomfortable engaging them. Many make the mistake of simply sucking in their stomachs, instead of activating the muscle. “To engage them correctly, stand flat against a wall. If you are using them and not just pulling in your tummy, your lower back should be in contact with the wall,” he said.

It is possible, and often more effective, to work your abdominal muscles a little all the time, Sion Colenso, a personal trainer, says. Practise engaging the muscle at times throughout the day, such as when you are sitting waiting in the car, going to the toilet, standing on your train home or watching television, he says. Do not neglect the rest of your workout, though. “Your diet and the cardiovascular exercise you do is as important as the abdominal exercises themselves,” Colenso said. “If you want the toning in your stomach muscles to show you will need to burn more calories than you consume.”

Tuck crunch: Lie on your back with your hands at the sides of your head, your legs in the air and knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Curl up your torso while pulling your legs in towards your elbows, then return to the start position. Do two sets of 20 to 30 repetitions.

Seated crisscross: Sit on the floor with your legs extended and your hands behind you for support. Raise your legs a few inches off the floor, with a slight knee bend, then cross your right foot over your left, followed by left over right. Repeat this for one to two minutes while pulling in the abdominal muscles tight to maintain good posture.

Exercises provided by Sion Colenso, personal fitness trainer. Phone 07798 684474 or see www.sioncolenso.com

Talk to your GP before embarking on a new exercise regime and do not undertake any activity if you are unwell or injured                     

press