I got abs at 48 WITHOUT any sit-ups or crunches – I did it all from my living room and finally love my bikini body
A MUM has got a six-pack for the first time age 48 and is confidently wearing a bikini for the first time.
Vikki Ginks ditched the fad diets and built a lean stomach in just four months - telling others to stop doing sit ups and crunches.
Instead, she reveals what truly worked to change her body with a change in the type of exercise she was doing.
Vikki Ginks, a freelance marketing consultant from Oxfordshire, says: “This is the fittest and most toned I’ve ever been in my life. And I never imagined I could do this in my 40s.
“I’ve never been comfortable in a bikini, not even in my 20s or teens. But now I feel comfortable for the first time in one.
“I’m going on holiday soon and I’ve bought loads of bikinis to wear and I never imagined that at this stage in my life, I’d be comfortable in a bikini. It’s brilliant!”
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Vikki’s realised that despite hitting perimenopause, belly fat can be shifted at any age.
And her friends and family are blown away by her new look.
"My husband thinks I look great,” Vikki says. “And my girls are so proud of me.”
Vikki spent years trying different diet plans and programs only to find they never worked.
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She focused exercise on cardio, even though she hated it.
She says: “I’ve always been good at exercise but I have a busy life with three kids and was eating when I could and eating big portions.
“I’ve never been hugely overweight, maybe a maximum of a couple of stone, and I tried Slimming World and Weight Watchers and they didn’t work for me. I knew I needed something more accountable that doesn’t involve diet food.”
Vikki, who’s mum to three teenage girls, admits that unless someone is on her shoulder constantly guiding and helping then she slips up and fails.
I’ve lost 9kg (1st 5lbs) in total which isn’t a huge amount, but my body has completely changed.
Vikki
A lunch with an old friend gave her new hope, telling her about, founded by Rachael Sacerdoti, who herself went on an incredible weight loss transformation in her 40s.
Vikki decided to sign up having seen that her friend had lost weight with the method.
She says: “It involves eating well, exercises that I enjoy doing and then ultimately for me that accountability - so people who are coaching, giving advice and noticing if you’re eating something that might not be the best choice. That for me was what I’d been missing.
“They send you loads of recipe ideas, and you can adapt them to what you like. You have daily protein and calorie goals and you can work around that with the recipes they provide.”
Picking weights up
Before discovering the programme, Vikki had been going to boot camp classes three times a week and forcing herself to go running almost every day.
But all of this exercise wasn’t shifting her belly fat.
In her new programme, she started incorporating resistance training.
Your abs come not from doing crunches but from all of your weight and resistance training.
Vikki
Resistance training is a term used interchangeably with weight training. It is when you lift or pull against a resistance.
Typical training uses dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, resistance bands. Moves can include squats, deadlifts, chest or shoulder presses.
Vikki says: “At home now I have kettlebells and dumbbells of varying degrees. And then when I’m away I use resistance bands.
“You can do it at home, you don’t need to go outside in the cold or rain, you can do it with a friend or at the gym.
“I try and achieve five resistance classes a week and three cardio - but cardio can be what suits you, like a long dog walk or playing tennis.
“Your abs come not from doing crunches but from all of your weight and resistance training.
“Every move is always working your core, you always have the core switched on. I do bicycle crunches and I can do full sit-ups now but that’s not the main bit of my training.
“Just things like doing bicep curls or squats or bent over rows, all the time you have your core switched on.”
Vikki says she made a habit of getting up early to do her exercise each day - and the results of her new workouts speak for themselves.
She says: “I’ve lost my belly fat which has always been my worst area.
“My weight always goes to my stomach and now the belly fat has gone and it’s just showing what’s underneath from what’s been achieved through these workouts - abs!
“I’ve lost 9kg (1st 5lbs) in total which isn’t a huge amount, but my body has completely changed.
“All the clothes in my wardrobe that didn’t fit before now fit perfectly. It feels amazing, it’s like having a whole new wardrobe.
“I had all these lovely things I couldn’t wear or only wore with stomach control pants, but now they fit well.”
Vikki’s diet did not drastically change, further showing her switch in exercise made all the difference.
She previously had yoghurt with granola and fruit for breakfast, but now focuses on protein, adding a scoop of protein powder to some oats.
Her lunch typically will be either avocado on toast or homemade soup.
But the biggest change was to her dinners, which used to typically be pizza, pasta or fajitas.
Now, Vikki makes sure to have home-cooked meals such as fish and vegetables or bolognese made with chicken mince, which is leaner.
Vikki still enjoys the foods she loves but in moderation, having previously snacked and had treats throughout the day.
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She says: “It’s an 80-20 approach, so over special occasions, you can enjoy a slice of cake.
“Keep that to 20 per cent of the time but then 80 per cent of the time, you eat well and exercise. I like that, it’s not boring diet food, it’s nice healthy food. “
The exercises that work to give you abs
Jenny Francis-Townson, a personal trainer, reveals three exercises you should incorporate into your workouts for a stronger core and the developement of abs - and why sit-ups are useless.
- The plank
A “hold” exercise, this full body move fires up your core and helps to improve your posture by building strength in all your major tummy muscles.
Begin on the floor on your hands and knees then place your forearms down and step both feet back so your body is in a straight line like a “plank.”
Hold this position for one or two minutes, depending on your ability.
2. Mountain climbers
A great way to build core strength while also getting the heart rate up, the mountain climber challenges multiple muscles groups without too much risk.
Start in a high plank position on the floor then lift your left foot and drive the left knee across the body toward the right knee.
Return to the start position then do the same movement with the right knee.
Keep going, alternating between legs, for 35 seconds.
3. Reverse crunch
A great alternative to the sit-up is the reverse crunch.
Lie face-up on the floor with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your feet flat on the floor.
Lift your feet off the ground and raise your thighs, tucking your knees toward your face as far as you can go without lifting your back from the mat.
Your hips and lower back should lift off the ground and your knees should remain bent.
Lower your feet back toward the floor until they reach the ground.
Give up the sit-ups
Jack Claxton, Expert Personal for Trainer says the sit-up does “absolutely nothing for your abs whatsoever”, while also being an injury hazard.
“The sit-up is one of the most common exercises associated with having visible abs,” says Jack.
“However, people do not realise that at the wrong speed or performed with the wrong form, it can actually have a negative impact on the neck and lower back and does absolutely nothing for your abs whatsoever.”
Performing sit-ups fast is the most common mistake Jack sees.
“Not only does this make them a lot less effective as you are not challenging your core muscles, it also encourages you to lose form and have poor posture” he warns.
Poor posture during a sit-up could put pressure on the wrong places, and may also reinforce bad posture habits day-to-day.
Jack says: “Many people round their backs, yank their necks and allow their lower back to arch off the floor, all of which result in the use of back and neck muscles rather than the core.
“The problem with poor posture is that it puts unwanted strain on the back and neck which can overstretch or even tear these muscles which can be very painful.
“Poor posture when performing exercise can also cause reduced circulation and breathing issues, both of which can seriously impact a person’s overall health and wellbeing.”