Gutting It In

Men, one of the worst things we can do is allow the gut to sag as we age. It’s not a matter of mere appearance, but causes health problems.
The stomach muscles are designed to contain the organs, holding them in place with proper internal pressure so they work right. When those muscles relax too much, stuff gets out of place, and things break. As we age, anything stomach related becomes some of the hardest exercises we do. I’m sure we all have our favorites, but I want to introduce to you the Olympic Sit-up — that’s what a high school coach called it.
You’ll need some room, so you can’t do this in the hallway of a mobile home. We will be engaging the entire abdominal muscle collection, including the sides. Rest supine on the floor, legs straight and arms extended out to the side. As you lift your back from the floor, at the same time lift one leg. Reach for the toes with the opposite hand; just touch them. Drop back and switch sides. Repeat as many times as possible.
The idea is to twist your torso just a bit as you curl it up. One shoulder will rotate forward across the midriff, the other dropping back a bit. You’ll be pulling across the middle and down one side each time. Most people have trouble keeping a balance when first trying this. The gluteal muscles should be bearing the weight, and you may need to adjust how high you lift one end or the other, and which moves first, etc. It’s a balancing act.
This permits toning the entire abdominal support system. If you need to tone your back to match, just flop over and do the swimmer, where you simultaneously lift feet and chest off the floor. Stretch your hands up over head. For just the instant you are up, you’ll look like the rocker on a rocking chair, balanced on your stomach.
It’s not as if women can’t benefit from this, but they are built differently. Failure to keep the stomach capable of pulling is a bigger threat to men.