Adopt these Pilates-inspired tricks to strengthen your entire core and improve your posture.
By Lara Rosenbaum
If hitting the beach conjures painful thoughts of skimpy suits, Brazilian wax jobs and itchy sun burn, here's one way to make the body-baring preparation a whole lot easier. By incorporating Pilates-inspired moves into your fitness routine, you can strengthen and shape your entire core all without doing a single crunch on the floor. What's more, you'll straighten your posture and improve your balance-so you can not only look hot in your bikini, but you'll torch the competition in beach volleyball, too. Here, Pilates Master trainer Lizbeth Garcia, owner of Tilcia Studio in San Diego shows you how to sculpt your midsection and stand tall. Aim to perform the following tricks three to five times a week, and according to Garcia, you'll see noticeable results in six weeks-just in time for Summer.
Prop into Plank: You've heard of this move, but this core-building exercise has become a classic for a reason. "It works nearly your whole body," Garcia says. "Your core encompasses your entire trunk-from your shoulders to your pelvis. And planks target your spinal and pelvic muscles, too, along with all of your abs-internal, external, obliques and rectus and transverse abdominals."Even better, planks promote core stability, which can enhance athleticism and balance. (Thinking, looking good while remaining injury-free.) Try Belly Bulge Blast on ExerciseTV with Cindi Whitmarsh for a plank variation that utilizes leg movement and especially targets the lower section of your abs.
Or try Lizbeth Garcia's No Limits Plank Series, for side planks.
"When you perform variations and especially side planks, you have to balance and work harder," Garcia says. "It becomes more of a workout."
Perform Stand Up's vs. Sit Up's: "When you stand, you add a balance challenge to your work," Garcia says. "You lose your balance in general when you don't have a strong core, so performing abdominal exercises while standing is like a double whammy."
Start by focusing on your alignment, pulling your navel in towards your spine to help create a neutral, straight line in your back. You'll want to do this when performing the plank, too. "Your alignment has to be correct to balance well," Garcia says.
Try the standing cross crunch-as performed in Core Class, with Jessica Smith. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, and bring your left knee up toward you chest while simultaneously crunching your right elbow to your left knee. You don't want to hunch, but rather stand strong. Repeat on the other side and continue for thirty reps.
Along with balance, bringing your knees up like this helps target the lower belly, a common trouble zone
"You also need to breathe properly," Garcia says. "Allow your lungs to expand when you inhale, and then squeeze your navel toward your spine as you exhale. When you breathe like this it helps with your alignment and allows you to train your core more deeply
Stretch Your Spine: "Better posture naturally makes you look more slim," Garcia says. "When you slouch, it can make your mid-section look chubby."
Performing planks will naturally help you stand taller, as they work your shoulders and back muscles, and but it's also important to loosen up to avoid muscle imbalances. Stretch your chest after doing exercises like push-ups and bench press, or if you frequently sit at a computer. Simply stand facing a door, and hold one end of the frame. Lean forward until you feel a stretch. Repeat on the other side.
To release your spine, however, and extend your vertebrae one by one, roll your spine as shown in Posture by Jennifer Galardi on Exercise TV.
Not only will it help you stand slimmer, it will relax all of your muscles post workout, so you can feel refreshed after your abs workout. Now there's nothing painful about that.
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