by Maia Appleby

Brooke Siler is doing the Open Leg Rocker on the cover of this timeless Pilates classic "The Pilates Body".

What do people ask about the most often? You got it — they want to know what the best abdominal exercises are! I disagree with most personal trainers on the answer, though. I’ve seen people doing sit-ups, weighted crunches, leg lifts and all kinds of things, but I haven’t heard many of them (particularly women) say that they were that happy with their results.

Resistance training is great for strengthening and building muscles, to give you sort of a boxer’s build, but most people don’t want their abs to get bigger — they want their waistline to get smaller! In my experience, I have found that the classic abdominal exercises tend not to do what we want them to do.

Pilates moves are by far the best core-strengthening exercises. Where crunches work primarily the rectus abdominus (the large “six pack” of muscle in the center of the abdomen), Pilates works the deeper abdominal muscles and the stabilizers that help to hold it all in. It has also been shown to lengthen the muscles substantially, giving you a taller, leaner appearance. If you want to look smaller in the waist, definitely try Pilates.

Here are five exercises that tone the abs. There are many more, and Pilates is meant to be done in one smooth-flowing sequence, but to get the feel for it, you can work on these.

	The Hundred — Lie on your back with your knees above your chest and extend your arms at your sides. Now lift your chin and chest slightly, so you’re up on your shoulder blades and raise your legs upward. Lift your arms 6 inches and quickly pump them up and down five times while exhaling . Now inhale, pumping your arms five times. Repeat 10 times to make 100 pumps. Sound easy? Just try it!
	The Roll-Up — I prefer to call this the “roll-DOWN”, since that’s the important part of this exercise. Sit with your legs straight and your arms in front of you (see bottom picture in photo). Holding your abs in, slowly roll all the way down, feeling each vertebra press into the mat. until you’re lying flat, being careful not to let your feet pop up. Now raise your arms above your chest and slowly roll your torso up and forward, tightening your stomach, until you’re back to the starting position. Reach your fingers out beyond your toes (or as far as you can) and roll down again. Do five to ten of these.
	Rolling Like a Ball — Fun AND effective! Sit up and pull your ankles in toward your buttocks, wrapping your hands around them. Bring your head toward your knees and lift your feet off the mat so that you’re balancing on your tailbone. Tighten your tummy and slowly roll backward just until your shoulders touch the mat — be careful not to roll on your neck. Immediately roll back up — like a ball!. Do five of these.
	The Teaser — Lie flat on your back with your legs straight out and arms on the mat, stretched straight up over your head. Lift your legs up while raising both arms overhead until your arms and legs are parallel (see photo). Exhale and slowly roll back down, feeling each vertebra press into the mat, back to the starting position. Repeat three times. This is HARD at first.
	Crisscrosses – With your head slightly raised, bring your knees to your chest and place your hands gently behind your head (don’t interlace your fingers). Inhale and slowly twist to the right, bringing your left elbow to your right knee while extending your right leg (see photo). Hold this long enough to exhale. Now inhale and return to the starting position. Repeat, bringing your right elbow to your left knee. Do five sets (ten crisscrosses total).

Seriously, if you want to learn how to do Pilates on your own and make it a part of your life, don’t get the trendy “Pilates for this-and-that” videos. “The Pilates Body” by Brooke Siler will teach you all the basics without making you feel like you need machines and accessories. You can get it HERE.

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