The past several months, I have not done ab work. It hurt. I was also afraid that I would hurt something. No core work. I have a Cathe core DVD untouched waiting until the day I can start up again.
Not that I'm anxious, hate ab work! I'm weak in the abs. Even when I weighed 120 pounds, I couldn't do Jane Fonda's ab work--wow, is that dating me!
When you're overweight, ahem, morbidly obese, you can't pull your stomach in. It was only a few months ago that I could actually suck my gut in. Yes, I would play "before" and "after" in the mirror when I discovered I could do that. (It's the silly things in life that bring a smile to one's face and make life fun.)
This past week, I've been thinking a lot about my DVDs that I love to do. So many of them say the same phrase: Engage your abs. While I always knew what that meant, I never really did it--maybe I couldn't, maybe doing the workout was tough enough without worrying about the abs, or maybe it was because I couldn't chew bubble gum and walk at the same time.
I don't know what overcame me this week, but as I was doing the dishes, I would engage my abs. Then I would do it as I was standing at the washer, bending and engaging at the same time. Before I knew it, I was engaging my abs all the time. I'm doing it right now!
It doesn't hurt my owie at all. I basically just pull my belly button to my spine. (Not literally! lol That's lingo from my videos.) My abs/stomach feels so much better after a week of doing this.
Do what you can...I've told myself that all along this journey. Maybe all this engaging will help once I'm able to actually do ab work again. My pants are a bit looser, I see some changes in the old tummy. It's the little things, they all add up.
This doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy ab or core work in the future, but I'm doing what I can.
:D
Yay! Jo - you are sitting on a powerhouse!
ReplyDeleteAs a nurse I tell people (like me, myself) to Kegel and, pinch and pull, and suck it in.... sit in a chair and do leg kicks...arm circles....
You can do it all day long! Somedays that's all the work out I get!
Stretching, deep breathing.... even "sitter-size" al whole new world opens up!
I think your an exercising dynamo!
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing suck it in - stick it out. Its just been a few months for me where I actually had the muscle control to do it.
LOL @ Anne with the Kegel suggestion!
Thats how I do it as well.
ReplyDeleteIts not a source of pride but I tend to blowoff the plankage (shhh) and just try to engage the core 24/7.
Miz.
I've been trying to do the same thing. My newest "thing" is sitting on the exercise ball while on the computer to strengthen my core. Read somewhere that this was a good idea. We shall see.
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