{"id":409,"date":"2019-01-31T08:23:25","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T08:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp\/?p=409"},"modified":"2019-01-31T08:23:25","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T08:23:25","slug":"kegels-for-flat-abs-my-sure-fire-secret","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lisajohnsonfitness.com\/kegels-for-flat-abs-my-sure-fire-secret\/","title":{"rendered":"Kegels for Flat Abs: My Sure-Fire Secret"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\n

Doesn\u2019t that headline sound like the start of an infomercial? I know \u2026 I know \u2026 but it\u2019s true! I\u2019ve been using kegels for years with my clients and I know<\/em> they work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is a Kegel?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A kegel is the \u201cstop your pee\u201d move that you do with your sphincter muscles. Think of that muscle like a drawstring bag \u2026 the contents all come together to a center point where it closes off. Part one of a kegel is to squeeze the opening closed. Part two is to lift it up into your pelvis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a couple of cues that I use to help my clients:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gentle<\/em>:  Pretend you\u2019re going up an elevator and draw the sphincter up behind your belly button.
Harsh but effective<\/em>:  Pretend you\u2019re completely naked straddling a block of ice! (yep, that gets most people to understand)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kegels for Flat Abs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I mostly teach Pilates, so maybe you think kegels are just a Pilates<\/a> trick. But you can add a kegel to ANY abdominal exercise<\/a> and get a benefit!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever you\u2019re doing \u2026 crunches on the floor, hanging upside and bring nose to knees, oblique twists \u2026 doesn\u2019t matter. Whenever you engage the abdominals, add a kegel. You\u2019ll see a difference within two weeks if you do three to four ab workouts a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people with more advanced strength down there (yes, it\u2019s a muscle, it\u2019ll get stronger the more you use it), try to hold a kegel throughout the entire ab series you\u2019re doing.  You\u2019ll notice a change even sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One caveat: the sphincter muscles are what\u2019s called \u201cslow twitch\u201d muscle fibers.  That means they can\u2019t contract quickly \u2026 you\u2019ve got to give them a bit of time to get in place. Count it out \u2026 squeeze, 2, 3, 4 \u2026 and you should be there. Then start the exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of Kegels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kegels have so<\/em> many benefits besides flatter abs<\/a>. They will ward off incontinence (even during my pregnancy I never had a problem) and they will improve your sex life. The combination of better sex, not feeling old and feeble, and having flat abs seems like a pretty good one, no? And it doesn\u2019t take any extra time, just add it to what you\u2019re already doing. Easy peasy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The secret of kegels is that they help to pull the abs into the pelvic cavity. This will help you \u201cscoop\u201d your abs in and that\u2019s why they work so well to help flatten what you\u2019ve already got. I always tell my clients \u201ctrain with a scoop, get a scoop \u2026 train with a poof, get a poof.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do crunches and ridge up your rectus abdominus (your six-pack muscles), then you\u2019re training them to stick out a bit \u2026 who wants that?   Trust me, kegels for flat abs \u2026 you\u2019ll be amazed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa<\/p>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Doesn\u2019t that headline sound like the start of an infomercial? I know \u2026 I know \u2026 but it\u2019s true! I\u2019ve been using kegels for years with my clients and I know they work. What is a Kegel? A kegel is the \u201cstop your pee\u201d move that you do with your sphincter muscles. Think of that muscle like …<\/p>\n

Kegels for Flat Abs: My Sure-Fire Secret<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nKegels for Flat Abs: My Sure-Fire Secret - Lisa Johnson Fitness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lisajohnsonfitness.com\/kegels-for-flat-abs-my-sure-fire-secret\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kegels for Flat Abs: My Sure-Fire Secret - Lisa Johnson Fitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Doesn\u2019t that headline sound like the start of an infomercial? 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