Feeling with a not nice belly? You will need to heat up your summer ab routine. Put your mind into your muscle and work your transverse abdominals with some easy steps, and you can do it at home.
These deep ab muscles are attached at your back and wrap around either side of your body from the lower half of your ribs to the top of your pelvis, like a corset. They meet in the middle of your abdomen. Activating these muscles will make crunches more effective by forcing the belly in like a plunger with each rep.
TIP: Each time you cough, you will notice the area below your navel jumps in. Those are your transverse abdominal muscles contracting. Cough and try to hold those muscles, as you breathe. Try tightening that muscle while doing each of our ab exercises.
Ab Chopper Set up: Lie on your back on a mat. Bend knees with feet flat on floor – about 18 inches apart. Hold medicine ball or dumbbell in hands. Start: Raise arms over head so upper arms are in line with your ears. Exhale and roll up to a sitting position “chopping” arms forward and between legs as you roll up to a sitting position. Finish: Inhale and slowly roll down to starting position. Try 2 sets of 20 reps. For variation: try one set super slow and one set moderately fast or use a BOSU or balance pad.
Twisted Sister Set up: Lie on your back on a mat. Bring your knees into your chest. Hold medicine ball or dumbbell in your hands and extend arms over chest. Start: Keeping knees together at waist height (knees and hips both bent at 90 degrees) slowly move legs to the left and arms to the right creating a torso twist. Go as low as possible maintaining control of your back and balance. Finish: Exhale, draw the navel into your spine and return arms and legs to center. Try 2 sets of 20 reps. For variation: try extending legs.
For obliques, lie on your back and twist half lower body to the opposite side, and do the usual movement for simple abs, 20 times each side, and rest 1 minute, repeat 4 times. You will have a nice waist, in less than a month.
Don’t forget to stretch before and after every exercise.
