Waist Trimming Exercises

These exercises are designed to zap your fat zones.

Roll-Down
A. Sit on your mat with your legs bent and feet flat on the mat. Sit tall, extending the crown of your head toward the ceiling to create a nice, long, flat back. Gently grasp your thighs with your hands.

B. Starting from your tailbone, slowly roll back toward the floor one vertebra at a time as you exhale and bring your tummy in and up, forming a C shape with your spine and creating length between each vertebra. Once your head reaches the mat, reverse the direction by curling upward one vertebra at a time as you inhale, starting with your neck, and then your upper back, then middle back, then lower back, until you return to the starting position. Do 8 to 12 repetitions.

Pulsing Crunch

Sit with your right leg extended and left leg bent, left knee pulled in tow. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on your mat. Raise your feet as you keep your knees bent, forming a 90-degree angle between your thighs and your torso. Extend your arms at your sides so that they are parallel to, but a few inches above, the floor.

Press your lower back into the mat, tighten and contract your abs, and exhale as you slowly raise your shoulders off the mat, as shown, bringing your fingertips past either side of your buttocks. Keep your head in a neutral position. Inhale as you lower slightly. Then exhale as you reach forward with your fingers again, pulsing up and down without lowering your shoulder blades onto the mat. Do 8 to 12 repetitions. (For extra fat-burning power, do two sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.)

Leg Stretch

A. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on your mat. Bring your left knee in toward your chest. Tighten your abs, exhale, and extend and raise your right leg off the floor only as far as you can while keeping your back flat against the mat. Place your right hand on your left knee and your left hand on your left ankle, as shown. Inhale as you flatten and tighten your tummy and raise your shoulders.

B. Switch legs, as shown, without lowering your head to the floor as you exhale. Press outward through your toes and make the movement as smooth and controlled as possible. Continue to alternate your legs and hands, moving with your breath, until you’ve completed 8 to 12 repetitions. (For extra fat-burning power, do two sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.)

Tip: Focus your gaze on your navel to help maintain your lift during this exercise.

Full-Body Reach

A. Lie on your back with your legs extended. Extend your arms overhead.

B. Bend your left knee and place your left foot on the mat. Exhale as you reach through your right arm and right leg. Inhale. Then exhale and switch, bending your right knee and reaching through your left arm and leg. Continue alternating for 20 seconds, adding more and more length to your body.

Maxim of the Moment

Success is getting up one more time than the number of times you fall down. - Julie Bowden