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Summer Fit Series: Waist Slimming Workout     

This routine can serve as a nice finishing touch your workouts. It is targeted towards strengthening your abdominal muscles with some moves targeting the whole core! Keep in mind, abdominal exercises aren’t going to magically make your abs visible. You’ll also need to fuel yourself properly with a healthy nutritious diet to make sure there isn’t extra fat covering your abdominal muscles you will be working in these exercises. Why put your hard work to waste with a bad diet? No need to deprive yourself either- remember moderation and balance are the key to your success!


Start by laying on your back and prepare to warm up those abs. A way in which a lot of Pilates classes start warming up the core is with 100s. If you have done Pilates then this is no mystery to you!

100s

  1. Lie on your back with your legs bent in tabletop position with your shins and ankles parallel to the floor. Inhale. 


  2. Exhale: Using your abdominal muscles lift your head up with keeping your chin tucked down, curl your upper spine up off the floor to the base of your shoulder blades. It is important to keep the shoulders sliding down and engaged in the back. Inhale. 


  3. Exhale: Pull your abs into your spine and extend your legs straight to a 45-degree angle. You can adjust them higher if need be, or lower for more advanced work.
 A way to check this is to make sure your spine doesn’t pull up off of the ground. Your arms extend straight and low, just a few inches off floor, with the fingertips reaching away from your head towards your feet. 


  4. Hold this position. Take five short breaths in the nose and five short breaths out the mouth. At the same time, pump your arms in a controlled up and down manner.

The idea is to complete 10 rounds to complete the title of 100.

Starfish

  1. Lie flat on your back with your arms and legs spread apart like a starfish or if you live in those snowy places, the beginning position of a snow angle.
  2. Exhale: Pull your abdominal in and lift your body up off of the ground and into a tiny ball balancing on your tailbone.
  3. Inhale: Slowly open yourself back up while lowering back to the ground. Keep those abs engaged though and make sure you are in control lowering your arms, back and legs slowly back to the ground.

  -Repeat 10 times.

Slowly Climbing the Mountain

1. This exercise is just like mountain climbers. This exercise will start off quick and then slow down.

2.To get the heart rate up, I want you to perform as mountain climbers as possible in 30 seconds then slow down the exercise to focus on contracting the oblique muscles.

3. For the mountain climber-start in a strong plank position on your hands and toes. Make sure your butt is squeezed and your abs pulled in tight. The key is to make yourself a nice strong plank, you should not move if someone where to come and try and push you over. Make sure your butt isn’t dropping down low or popping up into the sky-keep a nice straight line with your body.

4. Exhale as you pull on of your knees into the same side of the body’s elbow, picking the foot off of the ground. Quickly pull that knee back into starting position and switch to the other knee doing the same motion. Continue for your 30 seconds and remember to breath.

5. Return to starting position. This time you are going to perform the mountain climber very slowly. Paying attention to your abdominals and contracting your muscles to pull the knee into the outside of your elbow.

6. Exhale drawing the knee in.

7. Inhale bringing the knee back and foot back to the ground.

-Repeat for 10 on each side.

Love Burpees Yup, it’s time for some good old fashion burpees to really get that heart rate up to burn some more calories!

  1. Keep your plank position.
  2. Inhale: You are going to jump both feet in as close to your hands as possible.
  3. Exhale: Planting your feet and standing up with a jump.
  4. Inhale: Placing your hands back onto the ground in front of your feet.
  5. Exhale: Jump your feet back into plank position.

-Continue for 30-60 seconds

Wood Choppers This is a versatile exercise which can be done on or off the Pilates machine.

  1. To create resistance like that of the machine you are going to need your resistance band. Trap your resistance band at the bottom of your door as close to the ground as possible or under one foot.
  2. Stand about 3 feet away with your feet parallel to the door in a squat position, facing either one of the side walls with the resistance band in both hands. (You will have to twist your body either to the left or right to grab the bands since you are facing either to the left or right of the door.
  3. With your arms straight the whole entire duration of the exercise, this will encourage your abdominal to do all of the work through the twist.
  4. Exhale: Twisting your waist to bring the band from a low point near your foot to a high point above your head on the opposite side of your body.
  5. Inhale: Twisting through your hips allowing your body to go back into starting position.
  6. Repeat 15, and then turn your body to face the opposite direction and repeat on the other side of the body for 15 more repetitions.

Repeat all 4 exercises 3 times through! Feel that burn and know you are burning calories and strengthening your core! Feel free to add this at the end of your workouts about three times a week. Keep in mind that abs are just like other muscles and need proper recovery time as well! Doing them every other day is adequate. Just make sure you feel that burn, if you don’t feel the burn then you aren’t contracting your abs. Don’t worry, practice makes perfect. Think about the contraction and soon your mind and body connection with learn!