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Core conscious
Beyond the sit-up: 5 exercises aimed at toning your tummy.
By Tina Ceroni
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Whether you desire to have Janet Jackson's sculpted six pack or Cameron Diaz's slim waist, building strong abdominal muscles goes deeper than the traditional sit-up. Enter core strength exercises. Core strength refers to the muscles of your abdominals and back and their ability to support your spine to keep your body well-balanced and stable; crucial for preventing lower back pain and injury.
Variety is key to sticking to your fitness goals, so maximize your workout by combining the following 5 core exercises into your regimen. You will be amazed at the results!
1. Balance
Adding balance to any strength training routine will help improve your core strength.
* Try standing on one leg while doing a bicep curl. It will force you to use your core muscles to help stabilize and balance.
* Be sure to start with a lower weight until you feel comfortable balancing on one foot. Once you are able to stand on one foot without any shakes, you can then increase your weights if you so desire.
* While balancing on one foot, make sure to put even weight through the whole foot, keeping the knee soft. Focus on tightening the abdominals and then start the exercise.
* Alternate each leg with each set. 2 sets of 10, each side.
2. Medicine ball toss standing on a BOSU (A BOSU is a balance trainer (looks like a Swiss ball cut in half) that can be used with the platform side either up or down for different challenges. Check out www.fitnessdepot.ca for where to buy.)
This is a great exercise that not only incorporates the core but overall balance and coordination.
* Standing on BOSU with knees bent and abdominals tight, toss medicine ball to your partner across from you. Best to start with a lower-weighted medicine ball (most gyms have a variety to choose from ranging from 2lbs to 10lbs).
* Continue to toss back and forth for 10 repetitions. Repeat this 3 times.
* Once you are comfortable with this exercise, try adding a twist to help target the oblique muscles. Standing on BOSU, bring medicine ball up on a diagonal angle twisting your trunk but keeping hips forward and knees bent. Toss to partner across from you standing sideways. Repeat 10 times and then switch sides.
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