How to Reduce Loose Tummy Skin With Exercise

You can tighten loose tummy skin with the right exercise machine.

Loose skin on your tummy can be frustrating if you're a new mother or if you have recently lost a significant amount of weight. Making a few simple changes to your everyday exercise routine can help tighten your tummy skin. Exercises should focus on toning and strengthening your abdominal core muscles. This is accomplished by increasing the level of resistance you are working out against. Adding weights or employing a stability ball can help you meet your fitness goals and tighten the skin on your tummy.

Things You'll Need

• Ankle weights
• Dumbbells
• Cable machine with weights and straps
• Fitness ball
• Medicine ball
• Decline board

Instructions

1. Utilize the decline board to make crunches more effective. Lay down on the board, flat on your back. Lift your legs straight up. Lift your hips off the decline board and exhale simultaneously. Lower your hips and inhale. Repeat 15 times. Position your shins below the support padding at the base of the board. Lift the dumbbells straight up from your chest, and sit up simultaneously. Repeat 15 times.

2. Perform different types of crunches to tone all of your abdominal muscles. Lie flat on the ground and extend your arms. Bend your elbows and hold your hands against your head. Lift your knees up to a 45 degree angle and bend your right knee. Lift your left elbow to your right knee. Twist to bring your right elbow and left knee together -- you should also be lifting your left knee simultaneously.

3. Integrate a fitness ball with a medicine ball to make crunches easier. Lay back on top of a fitness ball and bend your knees. Raise the medicine ball up in the air with both of your hands and curl your upper body simultaneously. Briefly hold the position, then lower your body back onto the fitness ball.

4. Sprint at least three times a week for optimal results. New mothers should ask their doctors when they are medically clear to begin this sort of exercise. Sprinting helps build muscle and burn fat which can significantly tone your abdomen.

5. Stand flat on the floor and spread your feet apart -- align your shoulders, hips and feet. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and lift the dumbbell straight up over your head. Bend your upper body over to the left side as far as you can go without moving your lower body. Bend all the way over to the right in the same fashion. Repeat.

6. Lay on your back and secure the ankle weights to your legs just above your ankles. Extend your legs and lift them 6 inches above the ground. Briefly hold this position. Continue lifting your legs all the way up and slowly bring them back down to the ground. Repeat. Position your hands under your rear if your lower back starts to feel uncomfortable. You can also use a cable machine for additional resistance by securing the straps to your legs above your ankles. Laying flat, curl your knees up to your chest and then extend your legs back onto the floor and repeat.

Tips & Warnings

• Work on your abdominal muscles three to four times throughout the week to get the best results.

References

• Real Women's Fitness: Top 5 Women's Abs Exercises for a Sexy Midsection
• All About Abs: Using Ankle Weights to Add Resistance to Ab Exercises and Spice Up Your Ab Workouts
• Women's Health: Saxon Side Bend
• Shape Fit: 6 Pack Abs Exercises
• Sports Injury Clinic: Medicine Ball Crunch
• "New Study Puts the Crunch on Ineffective Ab Exercises;" Mark Anders; 2001