Recently, quite a number of people have noticed that I've been leaning out and more so, a general comment would be that "you've lost your tummy!"... so Yes, I have.. to a certain extent. Its flatter but not firmly flat like how you would expect someone wearing a bikini to have. Furthermore, I'm a mommy.. I have mommy medals aka stretch marks so wearing a bikini will NEVER be the same forever again...
It puzzled me when they made that comment because I didn't think that the tummy was really so much of an issue so I went to hunt down some old photographs of myself when I was 100kg sometime August last year in 2007.
And then I found it and I was and still am horrified. Scroll down to see what I mean.
It looks flatter now because I used to have a really big and protruding tummy that made me look 6 months pregnant even on a normal day. So much so that people on the MRT THINK I'M pregnant!! Much to the amusement of CJ then. I'd get a seat often just because people would look alarmingly at me when I enter the MRT train and stand up and offer their seat to this "pregnant lady"....which of course.. was ME..... argh!!
See what I mean!! Doesn't this look like I was pregnant??! Sure does! Arrghhh *blinding my eyes* How lumpy could I get??! This is what you get when you're 100kg and not realising that you look like a marshmallow with clothes.
So then, over time as my regime increased and the weight dropped, combined with my workout for the day, whether its some cardio at the gym in the morning or running in the evening, I combine it with 200 front crunches + 200 side crunches to strengthen and flatten the upper abs and sides... which makes wearing fitted shirts like this I'm wearing today look alot more visually acceptable... and 100 leg raises to flatten the lower "pouch".
What I've noticed though is that many people are doing their crunches wrongly. They pull up with their necks instead of raising their shoulders. *Think of puppet strings attached to your shoulders and pulling you up* Doing it wrongly causes alot of neck strain and after just a few, some complain their neck, head and shoulders hurt. Its NOT supposed to hurt. If anything, ur tummy might feel crampy and have a little bit of a burn but then that means, you're working it girl!
I do not do sit ups because it hurts my back and find crunches more effective. Its practically 1/3 the effort of a full situp but double the effectiveness.
I couldn't find a proper leg raise instructional video but anyone will know, pad your lower back and spinal area, find a comfortable spot, extend your body straight and raise both legs together. I do 5 sets of 20 reps *aka 100 raises* 3 times a week right after my runs.
Does it work? Well.. see for yourself.. what do you think?
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