MikeCFT's advice column

Yes, I'm the same person who asked you about toning while walking not too long ago. I'm 20, and female.

Walking is good exercise; I know that. I'm concerned that it's not strengthening all my muscles to the point where it would be beneficial to me.

Because I have chronic pain, it's difficult for me to do anything too intensive, or on the hard floor. I'm most concerned about strengthening my back and abdominal muscles so I can better support my core and thus help with the pain. I do crunches sometimes, but getting down on the floor isn't very nice on the body, even on carpet.

So, here's the question--are there other ways I can strengthen my abs and back that don't require lying down or otherwise causing further pain? Or am I over-analysing and walking is actually sufficient to reach all my muscles? Are there any other areas I should be concentrating on that walking might not help?

I can't make the Fibromyalgia go away, but I'd like to manage it as best as I can so I can at least have somewhat of a normal life.

Thanks.

Well, walking is good for the health overall- for people who can't take/don't want a lot of stress on their cardiovascular system it provides a gentle working of all body systems- cardio, muscular, endocrine, etc.

Training the abs without doing a crunching movement is pretty tricky because the abs have one function and one only- to draw the ribcage closer to the pelvis; hence a crunch.

However- this is called "Ab specific" work and since it is the core of your body- your abs get A LOT of work throughout the day supporting your whole upper body and with careful attention to their feel- they also get worked hard during virtually any exercise that they're really not the main target of.

You have to remember too that the abs are a very small muscle group and they don't need to be worked 7 days a week with crunches- this will actually cause your midsection to get bigger. It won't tone anything- just like doing bicep curls won't burn fat on your arms. I do mine only 3 days a week and that's what I recommend to everyone else too.

I don't know if you have ever tried doing crunches on a stability ball but I find that a lot more comfortable than the floor, doing vacuums will help strengthen the midsection also- you blow out all your air and suck your stomach in as far as u can and hold it until you can't anymore- you can do this anywhere; while you're walking, laying in bed, etc.

With careful attention to detail you can also feel a bit of the lower back work during these also and I am sure you know that strong abs helps to prevent a lot of lower back problems.

All in all- you should focus on trying to find comfortable ways to just do the basics and not worry about doing it with a lot of intensity. Even just doing some vacuums when you're taking a light walk during the day will really help to develop more core strength and as you get better at them you will see that your core will feel a lot stronger and you'll be able to do more and possibly even make the exercises you find uncomfortable just a little more tolerable. You're not training to get ready for a bodybuilding show so just take it easy and do what you can.