Okay, my mid section is almost as large as my hips...very depressing. i am trying to do some ab excersizes at home this month. my goal is about 50 crunches a night. should i be feeling a pain in my back when i am doing the crunches?? i know that the back muscles and the ab muscles are kind of connected right?? my abs are very weak after having 2 kids and even getting my shoulders off the ground is difficult. i am trying to do some of the ab excersizes that you can do using the ball, but they are really difficult if you have weak ab and back muscles. very hard to keep good form. and with my big pot belly, sit ups are very difficult to do. okay, so i'm sitting here at my desk thinking, wonder if i suck in my belly button to my back bone and hold for 10 seconds, if that will be working out my abs while i sit here at my desk. anyone know if it will?? know of any ab excersizes i can do at my desk duing the day to help tone up and strengthen the abs??

Hmmm, dont know of any desk bound ab exercises but I have heard that if you clench your bum muscles whilst sitting down, it helps to tone your bum!

If you're having trouble with sit up why not try using one of those aids (sorry,cant remember what they are called). They're usually pretty cheap and they help you lift your head off the floor so that you dont strain your neck and back.

Also you could try the abs exercise where you lie on your back and lift you feet up into the air at a 90 degree angle to your body. Rest your hands on your back, just above your bum and lift your bum off the floor as high as you can go. Keep lifting yourself up without touching your bum back on the ground. You should feel the strain in your stomach muscles. You should be lifting with your stomach muscles and just using your hands to keep you balanced.

Your ab muscles run right around your back, like a girdle. That's why people (like me) prattle on about core stability, that's the muscles we are referring to, as well as the muscles of your torso.

Abs are half the story. There are some great books on abs and back workouts. I would seriously consider getting a swiss or fit ball. They are fabulous, versatile and inexpensive, and you can do a range of exercises not only for your abs but for you whole body.

I have found since doing core training for four months, my back is loads stronger, and my back pain has all but disappeared.

Visualising your tummy button going to your back bone is a legitimate abs training technique. You can do that any time!!! Unless you wanna take a giant ball into your office

You do realise though, that stregthening the abs will help with your overall strength and fitness it won't decrease the size of your tummy. Any strength training needs to be accompanied by cardio, and in my experience, for a big tummy (I own one too) a lot of it.