It’s that time of year again. It’s late February, which means you’re beginning to look forward to Spring break, warm weather, and beach season! Many get excited at the thought of laying on a warm sandy beach while getting tan, while others seem to shudder. Nervousness begins to make their bodies quiver. Have you gained a little extra weight since last September? Is your holiday weight still hanging around your midsection? Or maybe you just tried on your swimsuit for the first time in 7 months and it fit’s a bit snug.
Well, no worries. The good news is we’re not there yet, and you have plenty of time to begin toning up before Spring and Summer vacations are here! Here’s a great mid-section workout to help tone up your abs, which are a problem spot for lots of women trying to get fit.
There are 3 abdominal sections that this workout will focus on. The first is the lower abs, which we’ll tone up by doing the bicycle crunch. To do this exercise , sit on the ground with your legs in front of you bent at about 90 degrees and held off the ground. While first starting you may need to sturdy yourself by placing your hands on the floor at your sides. Begin by doing a bicycle peddling movement as if you’re peddling a bike forwards. Do this for about 15 – 20 rotations. Without stopping, swiftly reverse the rotation. Now you should be peddling as if you’re peddling backwards on a bike. Do this for another 15 – 20 rotations and stop to take a quick break. Aim for doing 2 sets of this to start.
This exercise focuses on giving you rock hard side abdominal muscles, also called obliques. Lie on the floor with your knees bent and pointing towards the left. You’ll twist your torso so your back is lying flat on the ground, or close to it. While placing your hands near your head slowly complete the crunching motion while focusing on a quality oblique contraction. After doing 15 – 20 reps, switch to the opposite side without any rest. After completing both sides take a quick rest and repeat cycle one more time.
This is one of my favorite exercises to do because simply by shifting your back’s position on the stability ball you can workout either the mid or upper abs without much change in position. For this exercise of course you’ll need a stability ball. Most, if not all gyms will have them. They’re also really cheap to pickup at Walmart of even craigslist. All you’ll do is lie on the ball with your hands behind your head and crunch upwards. You may need to position your feet under something sturdy to keep yourself from moving around. You can position the ball under your lower back to work mid abdominal muscles, or higher towards your upper back to focus on upper ab muscles. Aim for 15 – 20 reps, and 2 sets.
There you go, a quick ab workout that focuses on all of your midsection muscle groups. The great part about this routine is that after mastering technique it can be completed in about 5 minutes. Remember, to have the maximum effect of looking great at the beach, these exercises should be included as part of a larger fitness routine . You’ll be looking great on the beach this Spring and Summer!
