The end of winter means the beginning of the end of the flab. Now is the time to be more motivated than ever. We have spring coming up, (my cousin's in Virginia were playing in the sprinkler in the 77 degree weather yesterday as I contended with another 2 inches of snow). Fitting in jeans sans muffin-top is a a good thing.
One more thing. Despite popular opinion, great abs does not, and I’ll type again, does NOT, require more than 10 minutes a day. I know people who take longer than that to go to the bathroom.
Now, I’m not going to actually take a pic of my abs, though my husband thought it would be a good idea. Suffice it to say that when I was 14 and 5’11, I was asked to go to a Nordstrom modeling shoot. I’m flattered. I go. They take pictures. I come back, a headless, legless body. What was captured was my midsection, from my sternum to my hips. I cried.
“It’s a sign” my mother said, relieved my dream of being Cindy Crawford was dashed. Fast forward another 15 yrs, same story, different city. Once again, I’m the headless stomach for a gym ad. OK, I get it.
Over the last 30 yrs, I’ve whittled down the abs routine to the shortest effort for highest output, and tacked on a few tenants that guide many aspects in my life.
1-Free or close to it.
2-Convenient
3-Results
Oh, one other thing. I’m into LEAN not bulk. This means high reps and low weight. The only time I vary from this is for certain movements that lean down by length vs weight at all. You’ll see what I mean shortly.
Let’s begin with the standing crunches.
1-Side crunch-right side
2-Side crunch-left side
How-to: Stand, place your left hand on your left hip, raise your right arm above you head, drawing elbow to your right raised knee. This cranks your entire side, from armpit to hip. Try 10 at first, then work up to 25. When this becomes easy, add 3 lb weights. Do 25 on the right, 25 on the left then #3 below.3-Front crunch-both sides alternating.
How to-with the fingertips of both hands touching the back of your head, raise (and cross) the elbow to the opposite knee. Right elbow left knee, left elbow to right knee. Do 10, or 25 if you can manage.
** Just these three along will rip you a NEW set of abs in a couple of days! I will fit in some crunches in the kitchen, while I’m waiting for the oven to heat, or when I’m standing in the bedroom, watching TV. Seriously.
The entire ab crunch series is less about 2-2.5 minutes, depending on how many you do.
4-Standing side bends
How-to. With or without weights. Spreak legs wide, like a plea-eh(sp?), where the ankle is under the hip, or maybe a bit wider. Toes at an angle, not facing forward (2 and 10 o’clock). Bend down at the waist to the point where your thighs parallel the floor. If this is difficult, raise up just a bit. Bring elbows to the side and bend, attempting to touch your mid-thigh with the elbow. As you touch the elbow to thigh, raise your opposite arms up. Try 10 each side then switch, 3x each. I try and do 75 a day, 3 sets of 25.
Tip: If you punch the arm up, it is good, but not optimal. Swinging the opposite arm to the sky pulls the skin tight, from the hip to the arm pit. Here again, you are extending and strengthening the entire line, making it nice and lean.5-Standing cross-arms
How-to. With or without weights. Using the same posture as above, you are now punching your arms diagonal one after another. This leans out and strengthens the obliques while loosening up the spine. Same reps as above.
Sitting/Lying exercises
A core philosophy is if I’m going to watch TV, I’m going to be ‘doing something’. Call me Type A. Call me kooky. I can’t help myself. This summer, while I was watching TV in my mother’s living room, I had a pair of weights in my hands , doing the above. Mom just laughed.
“You’ve been doing this since high school!” Yes. And it as her fault I reminded her. She was a devotee of Jane Fonda wearing a headband and a thong, so of course I was influenced. (Jane wearing thong and headband, not mom FYI).
6-Knee up traditional together
How-to. This is the standard, lie-on-the-back, resting knees together. The difference is that I mix it up, and do 25 straight up, then 25 crossing, as in, right elbow to left knee. When done, I move right into #7
7-Knee up traditional wide. Open the legs, or in other words, keep the heels touching, or a few inches apart, whatever is comfortable, drop the knees wide, like a foot, and repeat 25 straight up and 25 crossing. This starts to kick your a--. For some reason, the wide legs really accelerate the ripped look between the rib cage and the tummy proper. My husband loves this and is in misery when he does it. Rog taps out around 10, so don’t feel back. He may run like a gazelle, but has the belly of a pancake--flat but not ripped.
8-One-knee close then straight.
How to-Keep one foot on the ground, straight, then lift the opposite knee up and crunch. To add flavor (and best results) I switch elbows to knee, first right elbow to the knee and then the left elbow to the knee. The key is that your leg is going in and out at the same time. For instance, the right leg extends out, then draws in, and my right elbow touches it. Extend the leg out again, then when I draw it in, my left elbow touches it. After 10-15 reps, switch legs. Drop the right, then do the same movement with the left leg.
9-Straight up.
How-to. This is akin to pilates, where the legs are together, and straight up in the air. I mix it up on this one. Sometimes I have my hands behind my head, but more often than not, I do the pilates version, with my arms straight out (tips past my tights) nearly parallel to the ground. I pump my palms 100 times in a row (palms are out and flat). This is awesome.
10-Bananas!!!
How to: I lifted this one from my martial arts class, then saw that it’s in P90X (Tony Horton’s CDs). Bananas mean you bend the front, side, back, then side, of the body. Lie flat on the ground, arms overhead. Lift legs and arms up (like a banana) for 4 seconds. Then quarter turn to the left side. Lift legs and arms up like a banana (it’s awkward at first, but awesome for the side lengthening and stretching. Then quarter turn and you’re on your stomach. Lift arms out in front and legs up in the back. This is my favorite. It rips the back as well as the back of the thighs, trouble spots for most of us chicks. The quarter turn to the again, and you’ve completed the set on your right.
If you don’t have a lot of room, just go back and forth 4-10 times. You will definitely feel wiped but in a good way.
Exercise | Pointer | Reps |
Standing | W/or w/out weights | |
Side crunch right | Rt elbow to lft knee | 15-25 each /3x |
Side crunch left | Lf elbow to rt knee | 15-25 each/3x |
Front crunch | Elbow to opp knee | 15-25/each 3x |
Side bend | Elbow to knee | 25 each/3 x |
Cross punches | Cross punch over knee | 25 each/3 x |
Lying | No weights | |
Sit-ups traditional | Knees together, up and cross | 25 each/3x |
Sit-up trad + | Heels together, drop knees | 25 each/3x |
Leg in crunches | Knee in, then extends | 25 each side/3x |
Leg up crunches | Straight legs vertical | 25 each/3 x |
Bananas | Elongate and stretch each side | 4 each/ 4-5x |
Use the above sheet, paste it into excel and keep track. OHOHOH—I don’t buy into this notion that working out abs every other day is required. I’ve been doing it most every day my whole life. If I’m going to brush my teeth every day, I might as well do abs.
PS-for those of you with the fortitude to read this long, I’m on day 2 of the detox. Today it’s been the left eye, the left side of the head. I’m tired. I’m grumpy. But..I’m alive.
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