Can You Tighten a Flabby Abdomen After 60?

If you’re over 60 and hoping to shed a few inches of flab and tighten your tummy, it is possible with a few lifestyle changes. By adhering to a healthy diet and following a sound exercise regimen, you can slow down and even reverse the toll that age has taken on your body. The type of exercises you should focus on might surprise you, though. It turns out that cardio and lunges will lead to a tight abdomen faster than dozens of crunches will.

  1. Your Metabolism After 60

    • While it's true that metabolism does slow with age, the primary reasons for this are not due to biological changes inherent in the aging process, but rather to changes in activity levels and muscle mass. After the age of 30, adults can lose up to six pounds of muscle per decade. Since muscle is much more metabolically active than fat, this has a big negative effect on metabolism. Add to this the fact that people over 60 tend to be less active, and you can see how the pounds of fat can easily and steadily accumulate. However, there are a few things you can do to shed the flab and tighten your abs.

    Spend More Time in Your Kitchen

    • The first step in transforming a flabby abdomen into one that’s tight and toned is losing the fat that has accumulated there. Since it is impossible to spot reduce, you’ll have to lose fat over your entire body, and doing so is unlikely to happen without making some dietary changes. By choosing a healthy diet and taking the time to plan and cook your meals and snacks, you’ll be likely to achieve the daily calorie deficit necessary for weight loss. A healthy diet is one that favors vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean sources of protein. It's low in starch, saturated fat, added sugars and sodium.

    Cardio is King

    • While diet can help you lose weight, diet plus exercise has the best rate of success. In order to bring your daily energy expenditure back up to where it used to be in your younger days, you’ll need to add exercise to your daily routine. Aerobic activities such as brisk walking, cycling, swimming and dancing generally burn more calories per minute than activities such as yoga or strength training. For this reason, it’s a good idea for healthy adults over 60 to perform at least 30 minutes of moderate cardiovascular activity on most days of the week.

    Don't Skip Strength Training

    • Remember that sad statistic about losing six pounds of muscle every 10 years? Well, you can reverse that trend and build back some metabolism-boosting muscle by adding strength training to your routine two or three times per week. While you should definitely include some exercises that will tighten the abdomen, you should train all of the major muscle groups, taking special care not to neglect the thighs, upper back and chest. By working these larger muscle groups, you’ll build more total muscle mass, which will boost your metabolism and burn more calories all the time. For people over 60, using a lighter weight that allows you to perform between 12 and 15 repetitions per set is recommended.