Can anyone recommend some simple ab exercises for women that really work and don't involve/rely on your back muscles?

Also is it possible to target fat reduction in your stomach area?

Thanks for any advice,

God bless

Yeshualives

I'm not an expert, but there are a few ways that I think could help alot.
1)Running
2)Biking
3)Drinking lots amounts of water(10 glasses or more each day)
4)Drinking green tea
5)Doing 30-50 situps each day
7)Never touching junk found or any fried food.
8)Don't add sugar to any drinks.


I think if you do that all the time and no quitting, in 5-6 months the stomach fat will disappear!

God bless you.

sit ups and crunches i find are great good old fashion working up a sweat , i always say if the tummy muscles hurt you know your doing it right, if it doesent hurt then you need to push harder.

if for medical reasons you cannot perform these exercises ,then brisk walking on a daily basis will help tone the whole body sister.

God Bless and Much Love xoxoxoxoxox

For ballet, we are practically required to do sit ups. To give an extra push, I play some of my favorite worship songs. :D

sit ups on a swiss ball are best, but if you can't use your back brisk walk up hills would still help
also the best way to lose fat round stomach area is to eat 5 or 6 medium sized meals throughout the day (instead of 3 big ones), avoid snacking, and doing exercise of any kind

I hate doing sit ups, but I have noticed that doing certain other exercises makes my stomach sore (in a good way).
Using the stair climber at the gym- or go to your closest school, they probably have bleachers/ stadium seating for sporting events.
I don't run very fast for very long, but jogging really works the stomach, sides and back, at least for me.
Make it a habit to continuously hold in your stomach- sitting down, driving, standing, whatever you're doing, whenever you think about it, hold it in!!
I am sucking mine in as I type this!!
I hope these help you
God bless

Exercise ball crunches - This is a good one if you are just starting to exercise.

- Step 1 - Sit on the ball and place your hands on the back of your head and walk your legs out lowering your body on to the ball until your upper back and shoulders are all that remain on top of the ball. Legs should be shoulder width apart.

- Step 2 - Lift your pelvic to straighten your lower back and tighten your buttocks and contract the abdomen muscles.

- Steps 3 - Keeping your elbows pointing out to the side slowly raise the shoulders slightly being careful not to pull the neck. You should feel the crunch in the abdominals; the thighs and buttock muscles will be working too.

- Step 4 - Hold the position for a moment then slowly lower the shoulders to the ball and repeat for as many times as you can perform the exercise without straining.

Rest for 30 seconds or less between sets. Do 2 or 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions every other day.

Floor bicycle movement – This exercise does not require any equipment.

- Step 1 - Lie on your back with your hands behind your head and legs straight out.

- Step 2 - Contract your abdomen muscles and lift one leg bending your knee while raising your shoulders slightly off the floor without pulling your neck.

- Step 3 - Bring your elbow and knee together bending so that the elbow and knee just touch.

- Step 4 - Lower and then change sides so the alternate legs in a bicycle movement touching knee to elbow. Repeat .

Move through the positions slowly. You can vary this ab exercise by bringing the knee and elbow of the opposite sides together requiring the upper body to turn slightly from side to side. This maneuver is very effective and works the oblique as well as both the upper and lower abdominals.

Hanging Knee Raises – This is a most effective exercise but needs gym equipment (Captain’s Chair. )

- Step 1 - The body is held upright by the arms resting on padded arm bars with the feet handing down. The lower back is straight and supported by a back rest.

- Step 2 - Contract the abdominal muscles and lift both knees slowly up toward the chest,

- Step 3 - Pause and then slowly lower the legs back down to the starting position. The muscles are constantly contracted throughout the exercise.

This abdominal workout is the most effective because it works both the upper and lower abs, back and arm muscles for an overall core strengthening exercise.

The Best Results

It's not enough to just focus on doing abdominal exercise. For women especially, - you can have rock hard abdominal muscles, but if there is body fat covering them you won’t be able to see them. To make these exercises not only pay off but really show off you need to consider the following;

- Eating a well balanced diet low in saturated fats

- Doing a cardio or Aerobic warm-up before a workout

- Stretching both before and after exercise for increased flexibility

- Making regular exercise part of your lifestyle

Conclusion

Pay attention to what you eat and when you eat. It is as important as exercising if you want to lose weight or maintain an ideal body weight. If you want results you have to do the things that are needed to get the results. It is as simple as that. Once you get started in any exercise program it will become second nature and a part of your everyday routine. So **** in that stomach and get the beautiful abs you always wanted.

Deborah is a partner and co-author of Ipcor Publishing and Personal Logs.com. She is publisher of the website Get In Shape Watch the videos of these ab exercises on her webpage Abdominal Exercise For Women

Article Source: Deborah Prosser - EzineArticles.com Expert Author