If you’re not using weights in your abs routine, you could be holding your belly back from achieving the flat, firm and fabulously defined look you’ve been striving for. Abs exercises and weights go together like reality-TV stars and on-camera meltdowns – one is just not the same without the other.

Ask any woman why she doesn’t include weighted exercises in her abs routine, and the answer is usually the same: either she’s worried her waistline will look thicker than a linebacker’s or she’s afraid it will increase her risk of injury, especially in her lower back.

Here’s the good news: it’s an absolute misconception that using weights when training your core will add excess size to your abdominals. Your rectus abdominis and obliques are actually broad, thin layers of muscle that are simply not designed to grow as large as other muscles. It’s the excess fat over and under your abs muscles – not doing weighted moves – that is usually to blame for making your belly grow.

And when it comes to injury, many women don’t realize that when you perform any abdominal exercise – with or without weights – there is always a risk of straining your lower back, neck and other secondary muscles if proper form is not followed. If you stay smart when it comes to your tempo, form and how much weight you use, your odds of injuring yourself are no different than with any other exercise in your usual workout regimen.