It’s been fairly well publicized, as of late, that “spot reduction” is a myth. To trim a certain area, you have to 1. watch your diet and 2. burn calories. Then, the muscles that you’ve been working all along (through the calorie burning cardio and strength training you’ve been doing to torch those calories) will become more visible and help you achieve a strong, toned look. But if you’re hoping to start now with an extensive sit-up regimen in hopes of scoring a six-pack before your summer vacation, it may be time to reconsider those plans!
Incorporating exercises like these three medicine ball oblique moves will help bolster your core strength and are an excellent addition to your regular fitness program. But I can’t say that this routine will immediately get you Gwen Stefani abs. I wish! :)
Is there a certain person who inspires you to kick up your workouts?
I’ve been noticing lately that my shoulders and arms are getting a pretty good workout lugging around the big bags that I amass from a day of work, errands and exercise. But I still squeeze in a regular upper body strength workout a couple times each week because I don’t mind the “good burn” that comes from challenging my chest, back, shoulders and arms. Plus, giving your upper body a hard workout doesn’t affect your ability to climb stairs like some other exercises do :)
For this routine, you’ll need a weighted ball like a medicine ball (a basketball or even a dumbbell would do in a pinch), a stability ball or bench to lie on and a light-to-medium pair of dumbbells. Try to keep your butt up in line with your knees and shoulders during the chest ball pass and keep your back straight and shoulders down during the wrist rotation (apparently I need to work on my posture a bit too! What’s with that leaning back business?).
Do any of your daily activities give you a good workout?
Ah, the obliques. They can be cut and toned, they can be curvy and cute or they can be an area that is prone to pinching—in attempts to determine whether it’s time to focus on firming up or not. I find that my body prefers to store any extra fat in the oblique region, so in addition to cardio, I adore doing core work that focuses on strengthening the side abdominal muscles. Although there’s no way to “spot reduce” with exercise, you can stay fit all over with cardio and the underlying muscles will shine through!
These three exercises can be performed with a medicine ball, although you can substitute a dumbbell or other weighted object if necessary. Remember to keep the body in a straight line when in side plank and focus on tightening the ab muscles throughout the moves. To increase the intensity of your traditional ab workouts, try to add these exercises to your routine two to three times each week.
It’s important to balance your body by challenging all muscles. But we all enjoy concentrating on certain body parts more than others. What are your favorites?
Medicine balls are terrific tools that can be utilized in nearly any workout (arms, legs, core, even extra resistance/balance tools during particular cardio moves) and for nearly every athlete. Today, I’m giving you a few medicine ball-assisted moves to try that will tone all areas of your core.
Grab a medicine ball—or a dumbbell will work for the first and third exercises—and join me for three waist whittling moves! Feel free to keep your arms on the floor near your lower back to support you, as a beginner, during the weighted reverse crunch (exercise #2). (And feel free to laugh at me when I allow the ball to slip out during this move…my Mom was giggling behind the camera and cracking me up! :) )
Do you have any favorite tools that you keep in your home exercise room or that you gravitate to at the gym?
