The quest for a whittled waistline gets harder as you age. The
reason: Hormonal changes encourage excess calories to make a beeline for
your belly, where they are stored as—you guessed it—fat. When
researchers at the University of Vermont tested 178 healthy-weight women
ages 20 to 60, the oldest had 55% more belly fat than the youngest.
A bigger belly, however, isn't inevitable, and tummy-toning exercises
can help. A pilates workout and training is your secret weapon because
it works all of your abdominal muscles: the six-pack rectus abdominis,
which runs down your center; the waist-defining obliques, which wrap
around your sides; and the deep transversus abdominis, which is often
missed in traditional ab workouts, says LA-based Pilates instructor
Michelle Dozois, who designed this Pilates workout. For maximum results,
flatten your belly by pulling your navel toward your spine during each
rep. Do a Pilates workout three times a week, every other day.
Toe Dip
A. Lie on your back with your legs up and bent at 90
degrees—thighs straight up and calves parallel to the floor. Rest your
hands at your sides, palms down. Keep your abs contracted and press your
lower back toward the floor.
B. Inhale and lower your left leg for a count of two
("down, down"), moving only from your hip and dipping your toes toward
the floor (without letting them actually touch it). Exhale and raise
your leg back to the starting position for a count of two ("up, up").
Repeat with your right leg and continue alternating until you've done 12
reps with each leg.
Leg Circle
A. Lie on your back with your legs extended along
the floor. Raise your left leg toward the ceiling, with toes pointed and
hands at your sides, palms down. Hold for 10 to 60 seconds. (If this
position is uncomfortable, you can bend your right leg and place your
right foot flat on the floor.)
B. Make a small circle on the ceiling with your left
toes, rotating your leg from your hip. Inhale as you begin the circle
and exhale as you finish. Keep your body as still as possible—no
rocking—by tightening your abs. Do six circles, then reverse direction
for six more. Repeat with your other leg.
Crisscross
A. Start as in the Toe Dip but with your hands
behind your head, elbows out to the sides. Curl up to raise your head,
neck, and shoulders off the floor.
B. As you inhale, rotate your torso to the right,
bringing your right knee and left shoulder toward each other and
extending your left leg toward the ceiling in a diagonal line from your
hips. As you exhale, rotate to the left, bringing your left knee toward
your right shoulder and extending your right leg. That's one rep. Do six
reps.
Leg Kick
A. Lie on your left side with your legs straight and
together so your body forms one long line. Prop yourself up on your
left elbow and forearm, lifting your ribs off the floor and your head
toward the ceiling. Place your right hand lightly on the floor in front
of you for balance. (If this position is uncomfortable, extend your left
arm on the floor and rest your head on your arm.) Raise your right leg
to hip level and flex your foot so your toes are pointing forward.
B. Exhale as you kick, swinging your right leg
forward as far as comfortably possible and pulsing for two counts
("kick, kick"). Inhale, point your toes, and swing your leg back past
your left leg. That's one rep. Do six reps without lowering your leg.
Then switch sides and repeat.
Back Extension with Rotation
A. Lie on your stomach with your forehead on your hands, palms on the floor. Separate your feet to hip width. Pull abs in.
B. Raise your head, shoulders, and chest off the
floor. Rotate your upper body to the right and back to the center, then
lower. Repeat to the left side and continue alternating until you've
done six rotations to each side.
Side Bend
A. Sit on your left hip with your left leg bent in
front of you and your left hand beneath your shoulder. Place your right
foot flat on the floor just in front of your left foot so your right
knee points to the ceiling. Rest your right arm on your right knee.
B. Pull your abdominals in, press into your left
hand, and lift your hips off the floor. As you come up onto your left
knee, straighten your right leg and raise your right arm over your head
so you form a line from your right fingers to your right toes. Hold for
10 to 30 seconds. Lower and repeat on the other side.
No comments:
Post a Comment