Maria Menounos’s Bikini-Tummy Workout

The 5 moves that earn the TV host such fabulous, flat-as-a-board abs
The 5 moves that earn the TV host such fabulous, flat-as-a-board abs

It's totally (blissfully!) crunch-free! "Training your hamstrings, lower and upper back, and triceps lengthens your midsection and is the key to great abs," says trainer Harley Pasternak, author of The Body Reset Diet, who created this workout. Three times a week, complete 20 reps of each move, going from one exercise to the next without stopping, then repeat the circuit for a total of three sets.

For more on Maria and Harley and to meet the finalists for The Next Fitness Star competition (which the two stars are judging), pick up the July/August issue of Women's Health on newsstands now!

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Move 1 Skater Lunge

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step your left foot behind your right leg and bend both knees to lower into a lunge, with your left knee directly behind your right heel (shown). Press through your right heel and bring your left foot back to the starting position. That's one rep; repeat on the other side and continue alternating.




Move 2 Lying Triceps Extension

Lie on your back and hold a pair of dumbbells over your chest, arms straight and palms facing each other. Slowly bend your elbows to lower the weights to either side of your head (shown); pause, then return to start. That's one rep.

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Move 3 Alternating Superman

Lie facedown on the floor with your arms and legs fully extended. Raise your left arm and right leg off the floor (shown). Pause, then return to the starting position. Repeat with your right arm and left leg. That's one rep; continue alternating.




Move 4 Spider-Man Plank
Place your forearms on the floor, elbows under your shoulders, and extend your legs behind you, knees on the floor. Lift your right foot and bend your right knee toward the outside of your right elbow (shown), then extend it straight behind you, keeping your foot raised a few inches. Pause, then lower your knee to the floor. Switch legs and repeat on the other side. That's one rep.
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Move 5 Trunk Twist

Lie faceup on the floor, arms out to the side, and raise your feet, bending your knees to 90 degrees directly over your hips. Keeping your legs together, brace your core and lower both knees to the left as far as you can toward the floor (shown). Pause, then reverse back to the starting position; immediately lower your knees to the right. Return to start. That's one rep.


By Tracy Middleton, Women's Health
Photographs by Tom Schirmacher

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