As we enter the dreaded bathing suit season, now is the time to do something about the muffin top that has crept up over the winter months. A muffin top peeking out over a bikini bottom isn’t pretty!
Exercise will help you go from flab to fab. But exercise alone isn’t going to get you a flatter stomach. The key to tighter, flatter abdominals is a combination of 3 things: (1) strength training 3 times a week on alternate days, (2) cardio 3-5 times a week (minimum 30 minutes) and (3) a calorie-reduced nutrition plan. In order to see the benfits of exercise, you need low body fat.
Here are 3 simple core exercises that you can do in the comfort of your home on alternate days to help prepare you for the beach. These exercises effectively target the upper and lower abdominals, the obliques and the lower back.
1. Double crunch. This is a great exercise since it works the upper and the lower abdominals at the same time. Start by laying on the mat, feet on the floor and knees bent. Place hands behind head, supporting the head and keeping the elbows wide. Leave a big space between your chin and your chest (imagine placing a tennis ball there and holding it) and look at a spot on the ceiling. At the same time as you crunch up, bring your feet off the floor and move your knees towards your chest. As you crunch up, make sure you exhale and flatten your tummy at the same time.
2. Bicycle. This exercise targets the obliques: the “six pack”. Same starting position as the double crunch. Keep lower back on mat. Begin cycling motion with the legs, bring them in and out. For beginners, kick legs out higher towards the ceiling. For the more advanced, kick legs out lower. As you crunch up, rotate opposite shoulder towards opposite leg and exhale and flatten tummy. Keep elbows wide. Repeat.
3. Forehead lifts. This exercise focuses on the muscles in the lower back. Start on tummy on mat. Place hands on top of each other, bend elbows and rest forehead on the top of the hands. Lower body does not move at all (important). Slowly raise entire upper body off mat 2 inches and hold. Lower. Repeat.
Complete 20 reps of each exercise, 2 sets of each exercise. Complete on alternate days.
To see results, remember to include strength training, cardio and to eat a nutritious low calorie diet. The goal is to be strong and to look and feel healthy. It is never too late to start making different lifestyle choices. Every little bit counts.
And may the only muffin tops in your life be the yummy low fat variety you have for breakfast!
Happy trails!