14 Days of Beauty: Day 12, The Stomach

We all want a beautiful stomach, right? Well we all can have one. Aside from keeping your skin nice through exfoliation and moisturizing, we also need to focus what is inside. Inside the core of our body is life. Many of our organs are encased in this area and just beneath the skin, we have muscles! We want to see those muscles. This takes focus and sculpting. First, we should talk about the importance of BMI and waist circumference. Carrying extra weight in your belly area can be dangerous and can put you at risk for heart conditions. For men, having a waist circumference of more than 40 and for women, having a waist circumference of more than 35 puts you at a high risk for serious conditions. What to do? First, you MUST watch what you eat. Losing weight is about cutting calories and committing to an exercise routine. However, more than 80% of your results come from how many calories you consume. I cannot stress this enough: Do not reward yourself with a giant piece of cake because you had a hard workout that day. This type of thinking must be reversed. Do not blow your hard work in a workout by eating badly.

Now back to having that beautiful stomach. In conjunction with a healthy diet and consistent cardiovascular exercise, the following routine done consistently will get you a beautiful stomach in no time. There is no equipment required....just floor space. How easy is that?

• Bicycle crunches Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground. Put your hands beside your head. Bring knees up to about 45- degree angle and slowly go through a bicycle pedal motion. Touch your left elbow to your right knee, then your right elbow to your left knee. Keep even, relaxed breathing throughout.
  -Lie on the floor and lace your fingers behind your head.
  -Bring the knees in towards the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the floor without pulling on the neck.
  -Straighten the left leg out while simultaneously turning the upper body to the right, taking the left elbow towards the right knee.
  -Switch sides, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee.
  -Continue alternating sides in a pedaling motion for 1-3 sets of 12-16 reps.

• Vertical Leg Crunch
  -Lie on the floor and extend the legs straight up with knees crossed.
  -You can place your hands on the floor for support.
  -Contract the abs to lift the shoulder blades off the floor, as though reaching your chest towards your feet.
  -Keep the legs in a fixed position and imagine bringing your belly button towards your spine at the top of the movement.
  -Lower and repeat for 1-3 sets of 12-16 reps.

• Long Arm Crunch
  -Lie on a mat and extend the arms straight out behind the head with hands clasped, keeping the arms next to the ears.
  -Contract the abs and lift the shoulder blades off the floor.
  -Keep the arms straight and avoid straining the neck. If you feel neck pain, take one hand behind the head while keeping the other arm extended.
  -Lower and repeat for 1-3 sets of 12-16 reps.

• Reverse Crunch
  -Lie on the floor and place hands on the floor or behind the head.
  -Bring the knees in towards the chest until they're bent to 90 degrees, with feet together or crossed.
  -Contract the abs to curl the hips off the floor, reaching the legs up towards the ceiling.
  -Lower and repeat for 1-3 sets of 12-16 reps.
  -It's a very small movement, so try to use your abs to lift your hips rather than swinging your legs and creating momentum.

• Plank
  -Lie face down on mat resting on the forearms, palms flat on the floor.
  -Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows.
  -Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels.
  -Tilt your pelvis and contract your abdominal to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air or sagging in the middle.
  -Hold for 20 to 60 seconds, lower and repeat for 3-5 reps.