Forget salads and crunches – a piece of string is the key to a flat stomach.
A leading physiotherapist says tying a thread around the middle can remind a person to pull in their stomach muscles, giving them washboard abs.
Sammy Margo, a chartered physiotherapist, says her simple string method can help people integrate abdominal exercise into their daily lives.
She said: ‘Take a piece of string. Draw your abdominal muscles in all the way.
‘Release by 50 per cent and tie that piece of string at 50 per cent contraction.’
The pressure of the string will act as a reminder to tense the muscles.
She added: ‘Try bringing this into your day, when you’re walking, sitting, standing, working and at home.
‘Try holding this throughout the day for as much as you can.
‘This will give you a flatter stomach, work your core, improve your abdominal tone as well as improve your posture.’
Ms Margo told MailOnline the technique is a way to get people who might not carry out any exercise whatsoever to become active during the day.
She said: ‘As physiotherapists, we are very concerned people are completely inactive.
‘The prospect of going to the gym two or three times a week might be scary for some people so we need to find ways of integrating exercise into daily life.’