Each day I go to the gym, and there’s a lady on an exercise mat. She’s hard at work doing crunches, mountain climbers, and planks. Her stomach is tight, and she hasn’t a muffin top or love handles. But I wonder how she looked when she started. Maybe she had my relentless muffin top that never goes away. If you have stubborn belly fat, it’s time to work it out. Soon you can have a flat belly too!
First, start with the crunch. Lay flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Cross your hands behind your head. Now, without removing your feet, lift your head and neck towards your chest. Raise your shoulders off your exercise mat as well. You should be feeling a stretch in your abdominal muscles. If you want more of a challenge, try the criss-cross crunch. Bend your legs at the knees but hold them at a 90-degree angle in the air. Then, cross your left arm to your right knee. You’ll cross your right arm to your left knee. Do two sets of ten crunches.
Another exercise is called the roll up. Lay flat on the floor with your arms straight in the air. Do not bend them at the elbows. Make sure your toes are pointing to the sky. Now, sit up and touch your toes. Do as many as you can within sixty seconds. Take a break. Do two more sets of sixty-second intervals with a break in-between. The opposing exercise to this is called pulse ups. Lay on your back and lift your legs straight into the air without bending. Do the same sets as the previous exercise with this exercise.
Bird dogs is another exercise that works the abdominal muscles. Start the exercise by getting onto your hands and knees. Make sure your head and neck are aligned with your spine. Then, move out your left leg and your right arm. Do not bend either one but keep them straight. Hold to the count of five and return to the starting position. Now move out your right leg and left arm. Count to five and return to the starting position. Do a set of ten.
Likewise, another exercise is toe touch. Lie on your back and lift your legs straight into the air without bending. Now, lift your arms straight into the air. Just as you did with the roll up exercise, move your hands toward your toes. You should feel your adnominal muscles hard at work as they get tighter. Hold each stretch for a count of five and release. Complete a set of ten and rest.
Finally, let’s end with crunch claps. Get back into the crunch position. You should be on your back, but one leg should be flat while the other is bent at a 90-degree angle. Your head and neck should be aligned with your spine. Now, move forward to do a crunch. As you approach your leg that is balanced in the air, clap underneath your leg and return to the resting position. Complete ten crunch claps per side. Then take a break and come back tomorrow for more!
