BELLY JELLY

No, this you won't find sitting beside the Royal Beehive Jelly on the shelves of your local vitamin retailer. It's not a topical salve nor is it a capsule that promises to melt your belly fat. In fact, if you're like most of us over the age of 40, you can jiggle your middle and you'll find it. Go ahead, try it. See? That's belly jelly!

Or so it looks and feels that way. Spilled over your belt or fighting through your hosiery support panel, the swell is relentless. You make every effort to strengthen and tone your midsection, and the jiggling protrusion prevails. What gives?

Well, if you understand your belly's construction and the factors that affect it, board-like abdominals may not be realistic. The belly jelly phenomenon, by the way, is not gender-specific. Both men and women come equipped with the same group of abdominal muscles. The transverse abdominus is the deepest one and entwines with your spine, wrapping around your torso like a corset. It pulls in your belly. Cough and you'll feel it working. Your internal and external obliques affect rotation and lateral flexion of the spine. They form your waist. The most superficial of the bunch is the showboat, rectus abdominus. It's the six-pack. I know, the only six-pack you've seen lately is in the refrigerator. In an ideal world, this muscle forms those six compartment-like striations visible to the eye. Together, all of these muscles create one heck of a cylindrical, ever-changing, dynamic powerhouse.

It's the "ever-changing" part that could be the belly jelly culprit here. The abdominal muscles work together to stabilize, rotate and flex the spine. Counter-balancing their activity are your back muscles, specifically the spinal extensors. Like any muscle in the body, however, they can become deficient. Reduced strength and flexibility or diminished integrity due to childbirth, surgeries or disease - even certain hormone excesses - set the stage for belly jelly syndrome.

Let's examine these contributing factors a little more closely. First, as we age, muscles weaken - even atrophy - if they're not challenged. Postural muscles, for instance. If the upper back muscles lengthen due to disuse, a stooped posture results. The lower back compensates by excessively curving inward. The pelvis then tilts forward like a bucket spilling its contents and, guess what? The tummy juts forward! The abdominal muscle is now lengthened giving more laxity to what's behind it and "pop" goes the pooch. Improving the posture by strengthening the upper back, leveling the pelvis, and tightening the abs can work wonders here.

Second, childbirth - don't leave me guys - or abdominal surgeries can stretch or injure both the muscles and the fascia (the connective tissue sheath over the muscle). Picture a flimsy piece of plastic wrap draped over a foam tray of raw beef. Now turn it vertically. A little slippage, perhaps? Unfortunately, fascia does not respond to strengthening exercises, but the muscles do. So focus on that. Remember, what's not pulled back must pooch. It's a simple rule.

Finally, belly fat is perhaps the front runner for the jiggling middle phenomenon. Two kinds of fat take up residence here. Subcutaneous fat is between the muscle and the skin. If you can grab it, you've got this kind. And if you can grab it, then you most likely have the more dangerous kind too - visceral fat. This fat sets up housekeeping between and around your organs. The cortisol hormone released during stress is thought to promote abdominal fat accumulation, as is the reduction of estrogen during menopause. Regular aerobic exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and managing stress can all counteract this belly jelly sponsor.

In the fitness industry, we promote flat bellies to a fault. We sometimes forget the dynamic and ever-changing nature of our bodies. Washboard abs may not be a realistic goal. Decreased body fat, increased lean muscle tissue, and balanced muscle strength are more achievable. Unless the ab muscles transform into bone one day, they're likely to remain a soft tissue. Soft equates to - well - an occasional jiggle. We can be okay with that.