Outsmart your trouble zones: can't flatten your belly or firm your rear no matter how hard you exercise? Maybe your workout needs a makeover!

Shape, Sept, 2005 by Leslie Ryan

You follow a smart exercise regimen, combining strength training and cardio. You eat healthy foods in moderate portions. You've even successfully lost weight! So where are the flat abs and shapely rear you deserve for all your efforts? If that complaint sounds familiar, your problem may be that your muscles have developed an imbalance--and that means you're not going to get the body shape you want even with all your hard work.

"If you've got one muscle group that isn't allowing another one to work properly, the latter group loses its muscle tone," explains Aaron King, a certified personal trainer and Advantage Master Trainer at the Sports Club/LA in Beverly Hills, Calif. For example, if the back muscles or hip rotators are compensating for the work your glutes should be doing, it can limit the degree to which you can change the shape of your butt: It may not be as rounded and as tight as it could be. In addition to spoiling your appearance, muscular imbalances can also lead to pain. As dominant muscles take over for the weaker ones, the stronger muscles become overused and the weaker muscles become more prone to injury.

King designed this program exclusively for Shape to correct the most common muscle imbalances among women. Follow King's plan and you'll not only improve your strength and muscle tone, but you also will find that some of your most resistant trouble zones are showing progress and that your posture has improved. In fact, these nine moves and three stretches are guaranteed to get your body working for, not against, you!

target: pooched-out belly

Muscles out of balance Hip flexors and abdominals

The problem When your hip flexors (located at the front of your pelvis and attaching to your lower vertebrae and thighbone) are tight, they increase pressure on your lower back, which can prevent your deepest ab muscle--the transverse abdominis--from engaging properly, allowing your belly to push out or sag. Being able to activate your transverse abdominis along with your other ab muscles is what helps flatten your midsection. "Even if you have no body fat, if your ab muscles are inhibited in this way, you'll see your belly pooch out," King says.

The solution The standing hip-flexor stretch will relax your hip-flexor muscles, so when you perform the 3 exercises that follow you will be using--and strengthening--your abdominal muscles and not allowing your hip flexors to take over.

The result When the muscles in the front of your hips lengthen, it enables the muscles in the front and back of your torso to balance each other correctly. So you'll feel less tension and "pulling" on your lower back. "You should feel stronger and your abs will be tighter and feel firmer," King says. "You'll have a narrower waist and you will appear taller and leaner."

All three exercises strengthen your primary abdominal muscle (rectus abdominis) and sides of torso (obliques) and activate the deep abdominal layer (transverse abdominis).

stretch: standing hip-flexor stretch Stand with right foot in front of left, separated hip-width apart, left foot flat with heel turned out slightly, hands on hips. Bend right knee, aligning it over right ankle. Keeping torso lifted, contract abs to draw tailbone down until you feel a stretch in the front of your left hip. Lift left arm in air and side stretch to right as you rotate left shoulder toward left [shown]. Hold, then release and repeat. Switch sides. Stretches front of hip (hip flexors) and calf

1. prone iso abs Kneel on floor with forearms resting on floor, elbows in line with shoulders, hands in fists, palms facing each other [A]. Extend one leg at a time behind you so you're balancing on balls of your feet, ankles and legs together. Holding abs in, lower hips until your body forms a straight line from head to heels [B]. Continue to pull abs up and in, drawing sides of your torso in at the same time. Hold position for 6-30 seconds, then release, lowering knees to floor. Repeat 1 more time.

2. BOSU oblique crunch Lie faceup on the dome side of a BOSU Balance Trainer so lower back and top of hips are against the BOSU, buttocks dropped toward floor. Separate feet hip-width apart on floor, knees bent, right hand behind head with left arm extended overhead. Contract abs, flattening navel toward spine to tilt pelvis upward, bringing hips to same level as your back. Then straighten right leg up to a 45-degree angle [A]. Curl torso up, keeping lower back in contact with BOSU, and rotate left shoulder toward raised leg as you reach left hand to outside of right knee [B]. Lower just your torso to start position, repeat for reps, then switch sides to complete 1 set.

3. the draw Lie faceup with your head about a foot in front of a sturdy support. Wrap a resistance band around the support a few inches above your head. Holding ends or handles of band, elbows bent and forearms above face, extend legs in air at a 45-degree angle or more to the floor, with back firmly in contact with floor, feet relaxed. Draw abs in and straighten arms in front of you, palms down [A]. Bend knees in toward hands, separating knees but keeping heels together and feet flexed. At the same time, lift shoulder blades off floor and reach hands through legs toward feet with arms straight [B]. Lower torso and straighten legs. Repeat.