Dave Draper’s Musclebuilding Q&A

I am 30, with two children by c-section. I work out every day, have lost a lot of weight, but am not getting the results that I want in my stomach and lower ab section. Are there any exercises you can recommend to help me get rid of the overhang I have, or am I stuck with having a nice body and no abs?

I suspect I have little to add to your acquired knowledge to improve your abdominal area. The muscle in the lower ab area is best toned by leg raises — lying on a flat bench with your arms extended the length of the bench, hands palms down and positioned comfortably under your tailbone for stability and low-back protection from over-arching.

These can also be done on the floor on a mat or on a bench that is inclined by placing an appropriate block under the upper-body end. The exercise also serves as warm up and as a great thigh flexors (hip-flexors) exercise.

Bend legs at knees to decrease resistance and extend legs fully to increase muscle load. Do a number of sets of max reps according to your time, enthusiasm, discipline and toughness.

These can be supersetted with crunches as a change of routine, again according to your feel.

Hanging leg raises from a chin-up bar are very effective for obliques and the lower ab region. Hanging free hand is tough, but toughens (strengthens and tones) the grip, arms and torso. Again, hip flexors get a great workout. Bend legs to get a tight tuck (muscle contraction) and do them without hesitation, that is, rep after rep — no pause, to prevent a swinging, pendulum effect of the body. Persist till you have it.

The dog might be the skin thing that is difficult to tighten. Got me on that one. Overall training, lowering one’s body fat, developing lower abdominal muscle and good nutrition are the keys.

Kick things are a waste of training time and spirit; extreme aerobic is counter-productive to healthy muscle development. That’s all I can think of, Mom. Go.

God’s speed… Dave