Blast your ab flab! - Shape in Balance

Shape, Dec, 2003 by Linda Shelton

What do yoga, Pilates and wriggling into a pair of form-fitting jeans have in common? They all require that you "zip" up your abs--pulling your belly in and keeping it in. With this challenging at-home workout--a combination of some of the best yoga and Pilates moves you can do to tighten and tone your torso--you'll soon fit into your jeans with greater ease.

"Most yoga and Pilates moves force your abs to work as stabilizers," says Lisa Wheeler, a Reebok University Master Trainer based in New York City who co-developed Reebok's Core Pilates program and who designed this exclusive workout. Using your body weight as resistance, these moves target your abs from several different angles.

We've also included five extra moves (see pages 102-103) for a total-body yoga and Pilates workout that takes you beyond the ab zone. Give the plan a try, and you'll see amazing head-to-toe results in just six to eight weeks--at which point you should find that zipping up tight jeans has never been easier!

How Yoga and Pilates Sculpt Amazing Abs

It's no wonder these classic disciplines are incredibly effective at sculpting and strengthening your mid-section--each forces your body and muscles to work in similar, torso-toning ways:

Both train from the "inside out." Yoga and Pilates require that you generate all movement from your center (or core) with precision.

Both enhance everyday movement. When doing yoga and Pilates moves, you use your abdominal and back muscles to support and stabilize your body as you move through many planes and angles of movement, just as you do in life. This improves your ability to perform virtually any activity.

Both improve balance. When your ab and back muscles work together, the mobility and extension of your spine is increased so you move more fluidly and gracefully.

Both promote quality over quantity. Yoga and Pilates encourage you to concentrate on how purposefully and precisely you can perform each pose, rather than on how many reps you can do, so you're less likely to use momentum and speed to execute a move.

Warm-Up With Sun Breaths

Start in mountain pose, feet together, legs straight and arms at your sides. Inhale and sweep arms up overhead, keeping arms slightly apart and parallel [1]. Exhale, hinging forward at hips to a forward bend, stretching arms and head toward ground, keeping legs straight or knees slightly bent and rounding spine [2]. Inhale and look forward, placing fingertips on ground or on shins, elongating spine so it's straight [3]. Exhale, return to forward bend, rounding spine [4]. Inhale, bending knees if necessary, sweeping arms out to sides [5], then up and overhead as you hinge back up to mountain pose, straightening legs [6]. Exhale, return arms to sides, and repeat 4-6 times.

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Practice the following techniques with each pose to achieve maximum results.

* Align Make small adjustments and reposition your body as you move in and out of poses. For example, with dolphin vinyasa [4], while in forearm plank pose [4a], shift your weight forward and backward slightly until your body is centered between your hands and feet; this will help you maintain a neutral spine.

* Stabilize Pull your abs in and maintain the contraction throughout each pose to prevent your pelvis from wobbling. Draw your shoulder blades down to maintain a strong upper-torso position.

* Extend Lengthen all of your limbs fully throughout each movement or pose to challenge your posture and balance and to recruit more muscle. For example, when straightening your legs in cancan or crisscross, imagine reaching your toes as far away from you as you can, as if to touch an imaginary wall.

THE MOVES

1. boat pose (yoga) Sit erect on your "sit" bones, knees bent, feet flat on ground, legs and ankles squeezed together. Place hands behind the backs of thighs and lift feet up so calves are parallel to ground [A]. Hold pose for 3-5 full breaths, keeping back straight. Maintaining this position, contract abs, rounding spine to lower torso a few inches back toward ground, still holding backs of thighs [B]. Inhale, straighten spine and sit back up, keeping feet raised as you repeat 3-5 times, then lower feet to ground. The Challenge: Perform pose seated on a Reebok Core Board [C].

2. cancan (Pilates) Sit on ground and lean back, placing forearms and hands flat on ground, elbows under shoulders, knees bent, toes barely touching ground, legs and ankles together. Keeping legs together and maintaining abdominal contraction, inhale and let knees drop down to the right, toward the ground [A]. Exhale and straighten legs on a diagonal [B]. Inhale and bend knees (still on diagonal); exhale, bring legs back to the center and immediately drop them to the left, then extend on a diagonal. Continue to alternate for 8-10 reps (1 rep equals both sides). The Challenge: Sit with arms extended behind you, palms on ground and fingers pointed back [C].

3. crisscross (Pilates) Lie faceup, knees bent and in line with hips, calves parallel to ground, hands behind head, fingers unclasped, elbows open. Contract abs so back is in contact with ground, and lift head, neck and shoulder blades off ground [A]. Inhale, then exhale, extending left leg at a 45-degree angle to ground or lower, keeping back in full contact with ground; at the same time, rotate upper body toward right knee, keeping elbows open, lifting shoulder blades further off ground [B]. Inhale, return torso to center, bending left knee back to starting position; keep torso lifted. Exhale and switch, extending right leg and rotating to the left. Continue to alternate for 8-10 reps (1 rep equals both legs). The Challenge: Perform move lying on a Reebok Core Board [C].