Muffin-Top Melter

Let’s target our middle! We all hate that chunk of skin that hangs over our jeans, and bulges out of our tank tops. Ick! Well today is the today to whittle away that muffin-top. Working our obliques is how we are going to get this done ladies. Let’s get started.

Standing Ab Twist
•    With a slight bend in your arms, hold a dumbbell out in front of you. Stand with your feet hip distance apart.
•    Standing tall with your core engaged, slowly twist to the right, using your obliques to start the movement.
•    Return to center, then slowly twist to the left. This completes one rep.
•    Do 10 reps.
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Twisting Side Plank
•    Come into a side plank on your right side, with your feet stacked one on top of the other and your weight on your right elbow with your fingers reaching away from your body, palm down.
•    Place your left arm behind your head and inhale to prepare.
•    Exhale and pull your navel to your spine to engage your deep abs and rotate your left rib cage toward the floor. Stay there for a second and deepen your abdominal connection pulling your navel in toward your spine even more.
•    Return to starting position and repeat seven more times for a total of eight reps, then switch sides. Repeat series again on both sides.
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Standing Wood Chop With Med Ball
•    Start with the feet a little wider than hip distance apart, keeping the knees slightly bent, and bring the medicine ball to your left shoulder.
•    On an exhale, pull abs to spine, and “chop” the ball down diagonally across your body toward your right knee. Imagine you’re chopping some wood at this angle and the ball is your axe — the move is a bit percussive.
•    Focus on the rotation initiating in your torso.
•    Control the ball back up to the starting position. This completes one rep.
•    Remember you are moving with force but control. Don’t give in to the momentum of swinging the ball around. Do three sets of 15 reps on each side.
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Bicycle Crunches
•    Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground (pull your abs down to also target your deep abs). Interlace your fingers and put your hands behind your head.
•    Bring your knees in toward your chest and lift your shoulder blades off the ground.
•    Straighten your right leg out to about a 45-degree angle to the ground while turning your upper body to the left, bringing your right elbow toward the left knee. Make sure your rib cage is moving and not just your elbows.
•    Now switch sides and do the same motion on the other side to complete one rep (and to create the “pedaling” motion). Do this exercise with slow and controlled motion.
•    Do 10 to 20 reps.
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Seated Russian Twist
•    Sit on the ground with your knees bent and your heels about a foot from your bum.
•    Lean slightly back without rounding your spine at all. It is really important, and difficult, to keep your back straight, but don’t let it curve.
•    Place your arms straight out in front of you with your hands one on top of the other. Your hands should be level with the bottom of your rib cage.
•    Pull your navel to your spine and twist slowly to the left. The movement is not large and comes from the ribs rotating, not from your arms swinging. Inhale through center and rotate to the right. This completes one rep.
•    Do 16 full rotations.
To increase the difficulty of this exercise, hold a five-pound medicine ball or dumbbell at chest height.
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