The Dreaded Pooch Part 2

You may recall that I wrote an entry a few months back about our dear friend, "The Pooch." In most cases, poor diet and exercise is the number one cause of this lower belly bulge. But for those of you who frequently make an effort to eat right and workout several days a week, may still have that annoying sag in your stomach.

In some circumstances, a belly pooch may actually lie in your hips. As I explained in my previous post, tight hip muscles force them to tilt forward and also curves your spine inward, ultimately causing the stomach to push out.

But a bulge is the least of your problems. You may also experience back and hip pain from this poor posture.

I posted stretches that encouraged the hips to loosen, allowing them to tilt at the correct angle. This would not only eliminating an over-protruding bulge, but relieve any existing back and hip pain that may have been caused.

I had the hip tilt. And the bulge that came along with it.

So I decided to take advantage of the stretches mentioned and did them after each and every run.

Here are my results...

First, notice the curve in my back. In the first photo, my back is curves in from my tail bone, as it should, but instead of remaining relatively straight, starts curving back out. In the second picture, my back curves just at my tail bone, but remains relatively straight the whole way up.

Here is a photo that shows the curve in each photo. I overlapped the shape of the curve to show the difference.

Now, for the bulge. Though, one still does exist in the present photo, it is not as bad as it was in the first. It seems more in line with my body, just as my spine is. I can't complain at all with these results! And all I had to do was stretch!

To conclude, stretches tht loosen your hips are definitely something you should take advantage of if you have an exaggerated tilt. It may not rid you of the bulge, but it definitely reduces the look of a pudgy belly. Your back and hips will thank you!!

Find the exercises I posted here!

Did you happen to try any of these stretches? Did you notice any changes?