The shops are filling up with barely-there bikinis and with the sun beaming through the office windows we're dreaming of lazy days lying on the beach. However, after a lazy winter of laying on the sofa our butts are looking less than bootilicious. Step up diet and fitness superwoman Janey Holliday, founder of Fit For A Princess to advise us on how to turn that truffle-shuffle into sculpted curves and tight, toned tummies.
Since having my baby (OK, three years ago!) I still can't stop that dreaded pouch effect when I lean over or when I'm on all fours - don't ask! - are there any exercises I can do to target this part of my tummy?
In my experience the 'pouch effect or pooch belly' is because of three things 1) Excess fat in the abdominal area 2) Weak lower abdominal muscles and 3) Lifestyle/nutrition, but mainly the latter.
To get rid of fat in that area you need to focus on reducing calories and in and creasing calories out, eat less and move more. The most effective cardio or 'fat-burning' sessions as many people like to call them are things like jogging/running, bootcamp style classes, all over body challenges, and to reduce calories, cut back on excess calories (if you cut out a daily latte and glass of wine for a fortnight, you would lose a pound of fat without doing anything.)
Weak lower muscles mean that even if you did have a bit of fat in that area you wouldn't be able to hold it in! So, exercises like the plank, reverse curls and ab pull-ins will help with that, but the best ab exercises of all is when you walk around the whole day, pulling your tummy in as much as you can (pretending that you are walking around in a bikini usually helps you get this one right!).
Ok, so now the most important bit, anything that aggravates your gut will inflame it or bloat you out, so my advice to you is to cut out wheat (no bread, pasta, cakes, biscuits), keep dairy to a minimum (sorry no cheese and yogurts), nothing fizzy and keep out sugar as much as possible... Sorry no-one said getting a perfect body is easy! Also, taking a pro biotic and aloe vera juice will help to calm your gut down and make it function better.
If wanting to get rid of your pooch belly is not a good enough motivation for you, think about this.... Leaky gut syndrome (where the gut gets so aggravated the walls start to break down and toxins and poisons get into the blood stream) is massively on the increase in women. A healthy gut = a flat tummy... Good luck
My thighs are the one area that I can never seem to whip into shape? Are there any simple exercises that I can do at home to get them ready for the beach?
If you just do conditioning exercises, legs can actually bulk out so it is essential that you combine leg toning exercises with cardio work. This doesn't have to be complicated or necessarily hard work, power walking is a great way to lengthen legs (not to mention burning calories) whilst toning them at the same time. If you walked for an hour a day for a month, your legs would completely change shape without even doing any home exercises, if course of you combined walking and toning, you will get better results faster.
Squats are good, but do focus more on the bottom area, so combine these with side leg raises and rear leg raises and kicks to get great results. Lunges are good, but lunge with a kick on the end is better. Rear leg raises (where you are on all fours) will work the legs more if they are straight - if they are bent you use the glutes (the bum) more. Lying side legs raises are also brilliant.
While power walking is great, jogging and running will alter the shape of your legs faster. This is because the weight of your whole body goes through your knee joint (in walking there are always two feet on the ground so less impact) and so muscles are used more and of course at a higher intensity.
Power walking, jogging and running are great for calorie burning too, so if you do have any excess fat, toned muscles won’t even be seen if there is fat over it. Work hard, eat well and be proud on the beach!
How can I tone the area under the bra strap on my back?
This is simple, without a shadow of a doubt; kick boxing is the best way to shift this. My clients are amazed about the results they can get in a two week kick boxing boot camp.
The different upper body combinations obviously work this area and this is because you are using all the muscles in the upper body not just the arms. Jabs and crosses, punching in front, combined with hooks, punching around and then in front, combined with upper cuts, where you punch upwards from below not only tone muscles but are massively calorie (and therefore fat) burning, meaning you strip fat and get a great shape.
Find a local boxing class, try a boxing boot camp, or find a great kick boxing trainer for the ultimate results! If you can't do any of these, then try a kick boxing/ punching fitness DVD.
