Target Area Exercises - Abs

Michelle: Hi, I am Michelle of michellefitness.

com and Body Mind Fitness Solution. I am going to demonstrate how to do an abdominal routine anywhere, any place, anytime. All you need are a few props if you have them available; if not there are ways to modify. I suggest a mat, a resistor ball, a three to five pound weight and a yoga block. If you dont have any of these props, its not a problem. Just go through the basic exercises without them.

So, start by lowering yourself down to your mat with control, just by lowering yourself you have engaged your core and draw your shoulders up and then lower your body weight down. From here, you are going to keep your heels up, heels down toes up, hands behind your head and begin to just press the navel down, lifting the shoulders off the ground. You do slightly want to arch your back and repeat for 8-20 repetitions. Then you will hold up at the top and add in little tiny pulses digging very deeply and allow this all of layer of fat where these transverse muscles are in the lower part of the stomach and again repeating 8-20 repetitions.

Then grab behind your thighs, pull yourself up even deeper, hold and pause and lower down with control. You are going to repeat that sequence three times. If you are beginner, you may try it for one to two times. Then take your legs up in the air, this is where I like to add in a resistor ball for a more advanced routine and you can place that right up between your legs or if you dont want to use the ball, just lower and lift the legs about it. Otherwise, placing this ball between your legs adds a little more resistance and you can place your hands behind your lower back or to the sides and you will just lower and lift for several count. Inhaling and exhaling. Then, bring the legs all the way down. You can put your ball back down and place the yoga block right between your thigh and from here you are going to place your hands to the sides of your body and you are going to add in an alternating movement, so that you are really strengthening your oblique muscles, besides of the stomach. So, I like to keep my right shoulder down as I lift my left shoulder up and down. That makes sure I am really lifting from the side of the stomach and you dont want to work from the elbow and arm. Think from the abdominals, you are pulling up from the abdominals and you will alternate again for 8-20 repetitions and release.

Now, to get all the muscle groups combined bring your heels and toes together, knees are apart slightly, hands behind the head and you are going to add in a little crunch. So, you lift your buttocks up a little and try to tap your elbows against your knees, good.

If you really want to advance this, you can place your hands here and most up to the ceiling and out and hug it in. I like to also do a Pilates crisscross movement where my hands are behind my head and extend in to a basic bicycle and dazing behind you and pausing for four second and switching, you can go four seconds or two seconds or just single count it as fast as you like for as many as counts you like and then you will hug it in to release the abdominals. Also, to release the abdominals you may want to separate your knees, place your feet together and unlock your hands and just stretch it out a little bit and breath in to it. Thats a great way to end your routine.