Dance Team Tryout

by Personal Trainers

QUESTION:

Hi I just want my stomach to be toned by the end of june for a dance team tryout. Should I take classes or just go to the gym? And which kind of classes or types of equipment do I use? I do not want to lose weight though because I am already small just need to tighten up my stomach. Thank you for your time!

ANSWER:

It really depends on your current body fat percentage. Regardless of what you think, you should get your body fat percentage measured (estimated) by a professional using skinfold analysis or even use BIA to eliminate guesswork associated with your exercise program. Once you have a good idea of your body fat percentage you can check a chart of Body Fat Percentage in Women and see if you could lose body fat.

If your body fat percentage is not in the ideal category for your age group, extra cardiovascular exercise as well as resistance training would be the best solution to lose the extra body fat. In this case, going to aerobics classes at your gym as well as classes such as 'Body Pump' which involves weight training would help to increase your caloric expenditure to burn the excess fat around your midsection.

If your body fat is in the ideal or lean categories you may simply need to begin performing abs/core exercises to help tone the muscles of your abdomen. It is best to perform a variety of exercises for all the muscle groups in your core which you can find here.

100 Abdominal Exercises