For 99% of us our 50’s are the era of the bloated stomach!  I’ve given up stressing about ‘why my stomach is bloated today’!  It is what it is.  Some days it’s flattish!  (Not in my 20’s – flattish.  Those days are long gone.  But in my 50’s flattish!)  Some days not.

But I’ve got strong ab muscles and if need be…I can suck it in!  Not for long though.  That gripping through your abs causes a huge amount of tension in your body.  You need to keep them relaxed and switching on and off as needed!

If you’re looking for some yoga pose variations….

This is one to try….

Chair – Yoga Pose Variation

You get to let your belly flop with this exercise!  There’s not many exercises where you should ‘let it all hang out’.  But this is one of them.

You don’t want to be ‘rounded’ through your back in this exercise. Take a video of yourself doing it.  If you are – have the feeling you’re extending through the chest.  Without lifting your head position.

This is a short snippet from one of my workout videos.  It’s part of a light weight/high rep workout.  You can use a heavier weight if you’re doing a different style of workout.

Keep your workouts interesting with some yoga pose variations!

Training Tips:

• Stand with big toes together.  Heels slightly apart.
• Hinge forward from the hips and let your belly gently flop onto your thighs.
• Back is long, neck is long.  Look diagonally down at the ground.
• Extend your arms down – palms facing up.
• Breathe out with a double row.
• Retract your shoulder blades as you row.  Make the effort come from your back muscles.  Focusing on them doing ALL the work.  Not your arms.
• So even if the weights are light you can make this exercise super efficient.
• Repeat 10-12 x.
• Then repeat twice throughout your workout.