JSL Fitness

I learned yesterday from a qualified source (someone who used to have a flabby belly and now does not) what I've been doing wrong all of these years trying to combat my weich (German for soft) abdomen. I was operating under the idea that one should focus on building lean muscle all over the body, while combining cardio and a reasonable diet to gradually melt off any excess fat. While I have gotten slimmer at times of extremely strict dieting, I have never carved away the squish like I'd like to. My boyfriend clued me in to what has worked for him, which is a palates-oriented approach. One of the main staples of palates is strengthening the core, meaning your back, obliques and abs. This strength, in turn, adds stability and power to the rest of the body. The idea is that, to achieve a lean but healthy body, you work your midsection primarily and your limbs secondarily. Have you seen guys at the gym who have a huge chest and enormous arms but a big, nasty gut? That's because no matter how much muscle they build elsewhere, unless they (and I) build the muscles in my core, I will maintain that softness that has haunted me since puberty.

In summary: I need to work my abs, back and obliques harder and more consistently in order to tone the area and get rid of the softness. My boyfriend's sister is a personal trainer and also subscribes to this philosophy. I'm going to try to have a session with her in the next couple of weeks to put together a good plan for myself. In the meantime, I worked my abs pretty hard today, using a combination of resistance machines, crunches from all angles, leg lifts, and flutter kicks. I'll probably be sore tomorrow.