We all want a flat stomach, but you have to do different things for it when you are thirty than when you are fifty.
Snacking on chocolate bars, going to the gym at most once a week and still have a toned stomach. That trick might have worked when you were 20, but as you get older, it takes more to bring out that taut stomach. And that is not so strange. Over the years, your body changes due to pregnancy and hormone fluctuations, for example, and that has an effect on your belly. If you want this platter, then proceed in a targeted manner.
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Personal trainer Selma Guiking has developed the '10-week Mamafit program' and helps women who have just given birth to get fit and tight again.
“Pregnancy hormones cause your muscles and ligaments to slacken,” says Guiking. “For example, the straight abdominal muscles diverge for your growing belly and the tendon plate that holds the abdominal muscles together softens. This is useful:this creates space for the baby. After childbirth, the abs are supposed to come together again, but that doesn't always happen, especially after multiple pregnancies. As a result, many mothers suffer from a mummy tummy, a potbelly, long after the pregnancy. This is not because of too much fat, but because the abdominal muscles are still apart.
You can make a mummy tummy disappear with core exercises, which are aimed at core stability. This not only trains your abdomen, but also your back and pelvis – and strengthens your muscles.”
Anyone can get a flat stomach with a low fat percentage, but it differs per person how low that percentage should be. Selma Guiking:“Whether you are twenty or forty, the basis for a flat stomach remains the same and depends on two factors:your fat percentage and how the fat is naturally distributed over your body.” Do you store more fat around your legs and hips? Lucky you!
With a pear-shaped body, a flat stomach is soon in sight. Do you have slim legs, thin arms, but a round belly? Then you have the predisposition to store fat around your abdomen. Your fat percentage will therefore have to go down further to get a tight stomach than with someone with a pear-shaped body.
From the age of 40, the distribution of fat on your body changes. This is due to the decrease in the female hormone estrogen, a process that starts from about 35 years. The amount of eggs in your ovaries then starts to decrease. This makes it harder for you to get pregnant, and your body produces less estrogen.
Guiking:“When you're younger, your body often stores fat around your hips and legs. As you age, this moves to your abdomen and stomach. This means that your fat percentage has to be screwed down to get the same effect. And that is certainly possible, look at Madonna, but you will have to do more for it." Doing other exercises or following a strict diet is therefore not necessary at all once you have left your twenties. Doing endless abdominal exercises is also not the solution. Eating healthy(er) and exercising a lot to reduce the amount of fat on your body, on the other hand, is.
Personal trainer and nutrition coach Inge van Haselen is 63 years old and has a washboard. “I make sure I eat clean. So a lot of vegetables, few carbohydrates, little to no sugar and a lot of unsaturated fats, such as nuts, avocado and (olive) oils. I also exercise several times a week. Many women start exercising less around their fifties, but for a fit body and a toned stomach you should put on your sportswear more often. I regularly run to keep in shape, do Pilates to stay flexible and do a lot of strength training to maintain my muscle strength.” You don't have to sweat yourself for hours every day. Van Haselen:“It is especially important that you train effectively. A HIIT training provides a lot of results in a short time. Your fat burning remains active for six hours after the workout.”
Hesitant about strength training? Not necessary, according to Van Haselen:“Strength training ensures that your muscle strength does not decrease. Do mainly functional exercises:exercises with movements from everyday life, which are therefore less prone to injury.”
Before you let your fat percentage drop, it is important to determine whether your belly has started to droop a little more or whether it is really fat. Guiking:“You can train abs that hang, but if you want to lose fat, you first have to lose weight.” Take the bed test:Lie on your back and see if your stomach is now flat. If so, then you don't have too much fat, but it has hung a little more. As the amount of estrogen in your body decreases, so does the amount of collagen. Collagen is a protein that gives your skin firmness and elasticity. That is why Inge van Haselen takes collagen as a supplement in her daily diet. This is available in tablets, capsules or powder. For example, add some powder to your smoothie.
A critical note:a tight stomach is by no means taken for granted, especially if you are past your twenties. Predisposition, the structure of your body and physical changes are decisive. Selma
Guiking:“Always look at the possibilities of your body. The changes your body goes through are very normal processes and they sometimes make it quite difficult to get rid of belly fat.
You may have to work very hard to get rid of that bulge on your stomach, and leave many other things for that. That is not your fault and there is nothing wrong with your body. At most, there is something wrong with our ideal of beauty.”
Repeat each exercise 15 times
Lie on your stomach and lift your body up by leaning on your forearms and toes. Make sure you keep your body in a straight line and avoid arching or arching your back. Tighten your abs and glutes. Hold this pose for ten seconds and try to extend it more and more.
Lie on the floor with your arms at your sides and your knees drawn up. Your feet are flat on the floor. Then push your hips up. Squeeze your buttocks together well and make sure that you do not overextend your back. Your shoulders and head remain on the floor. Hold this for a few seconds and then slowly lower your buttocks back to the floor.
Lie on the floor with your arms at your sides and your legs straight. Slowly move your feet up toward the ceiling. Keep your legs straight and your back on the floor – be careful not to arch your back. After this, slowly move your legs back down.
Lie on your back and keep your legs about a foot above the floor. Move your feet together, first your left foot is above and then your right foot, making a scissor movement with your legs. Be careful not to arch your back.
Lie on your stomach and keep your arms at your sides. Tighten your glutes and lower back and slowly lift your legs and chest off the floor. Keep your stomach and hips flat on the floor. Hold this for two seconds and then slowly lower yourself back to the starting position.
Lie on the floor with your arms at your sides. Pull your knees up and place your feet on the floor, hip-width apart. Now slide one heel forward on the floor until your leg is almost fully extended with the heel still on the floor. Make sure that you do not arch your back and that your pelvis does not move. You keep your back on the ground. Move back to the starting position and repeat with your other leg.
Source:Santé August 2018, text:Mara Ruijter
