6 Easy Lower Abdominal Exercises

6 Easy Lower Abdominal Exercises

By Sharon Liao

Tone your lower abs with a 15-minute workout, three times a week.

The Routine

Sure, a more toned midsection can ease your bathing-suit anxiety. But it can also protect you from injury:
Research shows that a strong transversus abdominis—the muscle that wraps around the torso—stabilizes your back, which makes it easier to lift anything, whether it’s kids or grocery bags. To work this tricky-to-target area, try these moves created by Melissa Miller, the owner of M2 Personal Training, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Do the series two times through, three times a week.

Next: Move 1: Warm-Up: Ab Prep

Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Inhale and tuck your chin to your chest. Exhale and slowly curl just your head, neck, and shoulders off the floor as you lift your arms and reach toward your feet. Pause and breathe in. Slowly return to the starting position, breathing out as you go. Repeat eight times.

 
 Next: Move 2: Roll Up

(A) Lying on your back, stretch your arms and extend your legs so you form a straight line. Inhale, bring your arms overhead, and begin to curl your upper body off the floor. (B) Exhale when halfway up and continue rolling forward to reach your toes. Inhale and reverse the move, exhaling halfway down, to return to start. Repeat 10 times.
 

Next: Move 3: Leg Drop

 (A) Raise both legs toward the ceiling. Breathe in and tighten your abs. (B) Exhale and slowly lower your legs until they’re about four inches above the floor (or as low as you can go without lifting the small of your back). Pause and breathe in. Breathe out as you raise your legs to the starting position. Repeat 10 times.
 

Next: Move 4: Scissors

 Raise both legs toward the ceiling. Keeping them straight, lower your left leg until it’s about six inches off thefloor. Lift your head and shoulders off the floor and grasp the back of your right leg, gently pulling it toward you. Switch legs and repeat on other side. Quickly complete 10 reps (no pausing!).
 

Next: Move 5: Hip Lift

 Raise both legs toward the ceiling and extend your arms on the floor at your sides, palms down. Inhale and tighten your core muscles. Curl your hips toward your ribs as you exhale, lifting your hips off the floor and reaching your feet straight up. Breathe in as you slowly lower. Repeat 10 times.

 

Next: Move 6: Torso Twist

 A) Sit cross-legged and stretch your arms out in front of you, with your fingertips touching. Breathe in. (B) With your hips square and abs tight, breathe out as you slowly rotate your upper body about 45 degrees to the right. Return to the center and repeat on your left side. Complete 10 reps. 

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15 Minutes And You're Done

6 Easy Resistance Band Exercises

By Rachel Shelasky

Take a break from your dumbbells and try this resistance-band workout three times a week.

The Routine

Think you need a pile of weights to get in shape? Snap out of it and grab an exercise band instead. This portable piece of equipment may be even more effective than a set of dumbbells, because it improves strength and balance. Plus, “you work in a full range of motion, so it targets muscles that you can miss with weights,” says Lawson Harris, creator of this routine and owner of the Lab, a fitness studio in Brooklyn. Try these moves three times a week.




 Next: Move 1: Lunge With Biceps Curl
behind you. (B) With an underhand grip on the band’s handles, perform a biceps curl while bending your knees to lower into a lunge position. Complete 20 repetitions. Switch legs and repeat.(A) Place the center of the band under the instep of your left foot and position your right foot about two feet

 

Next: Move 2: Hug-the-World Plié(A) Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes out. Wrap the band around your back at bra level. Extend arms to sides, slightly curved, while holding the band just shy of the handles. (B) Bring fingertips together and bend knees until thighs are parallel to the floor. Open arms while returning to start. Repeat 20 times.
 

Next: Move 3: Squat With Overhead Press

 (A) Stand in the middle of the band with feet parallel and shoulder-width apart. Hold handles at shoulder height, with palms facing away from you and elbows bent. (B) Squat deeply while pressing your arms directly over your head. Keep your weight on your heels and resist the band as you return to standing position. Repeat 20 times.
 

Next: Move 4: Crunch With Lat Pull-Down

 oop the band around a stable object, like a doorknob. (A) Lie on your back, gripping the band’s handles with arms extended. Raise your legs and bend your knees so your shins are parallel to the floor. (B) Crunch your upper body forward while drawing your arms toward your knees. Roll back to starting position. Repeat 20 times.  

Next: Move 5: Side Lunge With Side Raise

 Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, one end of the band under left foot. Grip other handle with left hand. (A) Step into a lunge with right foot; sweep left hand down toward right foot. (B) Push off with right foot to return to standing; raise right leg as you perform a lateral raise with left arm. Repeat 20 times; switch sides.
 

Next: Move 6: Monkey

(A) Stand on the center of the band with your feet parallel and wider than shoulder-width apart, knees soft, and handles in hands. (B) Bend your torso to the right while drawing your left elbow upward. Alternate sides briskly. Repeat 20 times. (And no cheating: Two sides equal one repetition!) 

 

Get a deep stretch in your calf muscles!

Calf Rocking Stretch

Get a deep stretch in your calf muscles!

• Step 1

  
  Start in a push-up position.

• Step 2

  
  Pike your back so your body bends at the waist forming a triangle. Move your left foot on top of the back of the right foot.

• Step 3

  
  Move your body back and forth in a straight line as far as possible by rocking on your right ankle and foot. Switch sides and repeat.

Tighten your upper arms using only a resistance band!

Triceps Extensions Using Bands

Tighten your upper arms using only a resistance band!

• Step 1

  
  Stand in front of the chair and hold the band handles in either hand with your arms hanging at your sides and the band positioned behind you.

• Step 2

  
  Sit on the band in the chair and bend your arms up and behind your head with your palms facing the ceiling.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • Step 3
  • Press your arms straight up overhead. Keep your back straight and repeat for the desired number of reps.

Resistance Band Exercises - How To Use Them Right

Resistance Band Exercises - How To Use Them Right

All resistance band exercises share certain things in common. For example, in all of them, some part of the body like the feet or the back, or some inanimate object, like a door frame securing the doorway anchor that comes with many resistance band kits, are used to hold one part of the bands in place while the other parts of the bands are stretched and contracted to provide the resistance that produces their benefits.

Whichever resistance band exercises you choose to perform in your workouts, a few other essential items also remain the same:

Breathe - The need to breathe during a workout is essential to get the maximum value out of it. You'd be amazed how many people hold their breath while they're working out, though. You might even be one of these people and not even know it.

Drink Water - Working out utilizes water in the body, mostly in the form of sweating to keep you cool, and the only way to replenish that water is to drink more. Don't do it and you could overheat, feel weak and even dizzy, eventually growing too fatigued to continue.

Don't Overdo It - Nothing breaks a person's workout habit more than overdoing it. Trying too hard to go too far can leave you in pain and worse, cause harm to your body. Many times when this happens to people they never get up the motivation or interest to resume their workout, later regretting it of course. It's far better to stick with reasonably challenging resistance band workouts that slowly build up muscles over a steady length of time in a practical and sustainable fashion. Or to put it another way, it's better to under-do it and come back for more than to overdo it and never come back again.

Follow these three simple rules - breathe, drink water, don't overdo it - and whatever resistance band exercises you choose to perform, you'll get the maximum value out of them.