Ab-solutely Fabulous Abs!
by Pam Brooks

Do you continually do sit-ups and wonder why your midline hasn’t shown much improvement? That could be because the sit-up only works the muscles that work to move your body in the forward direction. If you focus only on the sit-up and ignore the other mid-section muscles that wrap around the front of your torso, you’ll still have a lower belly paunch, regardless of the number of sit-ups you do.

The lower abdominal muscles are the target if you want to get to the lower belly and persuade it to tuck up! At the same time, if you also work the muscles of the lower back that work in unison with the lower abdominals, you’ll avoid the lower back injuries that often result from overtraining just the "abs."

• An easy way to strengthen and tone both the lower abdominal and lower back muscles at the same time is a simple Pilates-inspired movement I call, Stationary Marching.
  
  
• Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
  
  
• Hands are by your sides.
  
  
• Imagine your back is glued to the floor. Contract your abdominals and inhale. Then exhale, slowly and completely. Keep your "abs" contracted throughout the movement.
  
  
• Lift one leg with a bent knee, moving it directly above the hip. At the same time, raise the opposite arm over your head till your elbow is close to your ear. Your arm should stay straight throughout the move.
  
  
• Hold the position for three seconds and then reverse. Repeat this movement , alternating sides, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Work up to one minute. You should feel almost as if you were marching in place, just lying down. The key here is to keep the back glued to the floor throughout the movements.
  
  
• You can change the formula just a little by slowing down the movement or by tapping just the heels on the floor instead of putting full weight on the foot each time it hits the floor.

The beauty of this movement is that it can be done just about anywhere. With a little perseverance, you’ll notice a new "tuck" in your midline. And the body balance you’ll achieve will spill over into your everyday routine, making everything from walking to carrying things a whole lot easier.

– Pam Brooks