Jackie Warner's Top 5 Crunch-Free Exercises

Sophie Pangrazzi/Fitness MagazineWorkout by Jackie Warner, FITNESS advisory board member and creator of the Personal Training with Jackie: Crunch-Free Xtreme Abs workout DVD


Ab flatteners that cinch and sculpt -- no crunches required.

Related: Watch a Video of This Workout

Side-Bend Shoulder Press
What you'll need: a 5- to 8-pound dumbbell
Targets: Shoulders, abs, and obliques
-- Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, dumbbell in right hand by side, and bring left hand to touch back of head, elbow bent out to side.
-- Hinge at waist to side bend to right, reaching dumbbell along outside of right leg toward knee. (Do not allow torso to tip forward.)
-- Return to upright posture, raising dumbbell to right shoulder and then pressing it overhead, palm facing left.
-- Lower dumbbell to shoulder; return to start.
-- Do 30 reps. Switch sides and repeat. Do 3 sets.



Sophie Pangrazzi/Fitness MagazineWeighted Twist
Targets: Abs, obliques, butt, and legs
-- Stand with feet wide apart in a semi-squat position, holding dumbbell in front of waist, one end in each hand, elbows bent by sides.
-- Keeping hips fairly squared and elbows glued to ribs, rotate torso to right, then left to complete 1 rep.
-- Do 3 sets of 30 reps.






Sophie Pangrazzi/Fitness MagazineKnee Jack
Targets: Shoulders, abs, obliques, and legs
-- Holding dumbbell directly overhead, one end in each hand, stand with feet wide and staggered, left foot in front of right, left knee slightly bent.


Related: The Best Ab Exercises from Around the World








Sophie Pangrazzi/Fitness MagazineSplit-Squat Curl
Targets: Abs, obliques, butt, and legs
-- Stand, holding one end of dumbbell in each hand.
-- Lunge forward with right leg, bending both knees 90 degrees; bending elbows at shoulder level in front of you, bring center of dumbbell in front of forehead.




Sophie Pangrazzi/Fitness Magazine-- Maintaining split squat and arm position throughout, curl torso forward to bring forehead toward right knee; really round your back and squeeze abs as you tuck upper body.
-- Do 15 reps. Switch sides and repeat. Do 3 sets.



Related: The Ab-Toning Stability Ball Workout





Sophie Pangrazzi/Fitness MagazineCurtsy Punch
Targets: Shoulders, arms, abs, obliques, butt, and legs
-- Holding dumbbell close to chest, one end in each hand, stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
-- Cross left leg behind right so left foot touches floor by outside of right heel and do a slight curtsy as you rotate torso to right, extending arms forward at shoulder level.
-- Return to start.
-- Do 15 reps. Switch sides and repeat. Do 3 sets.





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