Remember that the belly is supposed to have some fat, especially in women. Having that 6 pack showing through is not truly the natural state of humans, which is evident when you look at how much effort one has to put forth to get that 6 pack to show through, even when they are not over weight!

I agree with you one hundred percent, I was just trying to show that ab exercises may not be the best way to reach a flatter mid section when there could be several other contributing factors. A lot of people see late night info-mercials about the ab lounge or the bean or whatever else and they think that just by doing five minutes on one of these things that they are going to magically be a size two again, which normally isn't the case

Personally, I don't get much time to do any exercise so for abs, I lay flat on my back and then raise my head and my feet at the same time just about 2 inches. I repeat a few times. I have seen positive results.

I have found that as I get older crunches are painful in my neck area. I've been doing pilates and yoga and it has changed my midsection. It seems flatter and longer. It doesn't have the appearance of a '6 pack'. But that's o.k. by me.

You saying that pilates and yoga does the work without the aches and pain. I may have to try that, I know I need to but I can't stand the neck and back pain.

I have tried pilates, but didnt notice any difference. To me pilates didn't seem like a 'real' workout. For how long have you been doing pilates?

I agree pilates doesn't seem like a 'real' workout, but I've been doing it now for over six months and I've seen some changes. I will say that I don't do only pilates, I also do the treadmill and leg machines at the gym. These exercises probably work together with my pilates.

Actually, I find the reverse crunch works the fastest, especially for lower abs - you know the one where you lie on your back and use your stomach to lift your straightened legs up away from the ground.