Twist your upper body to bring your left elbow toward your right knee while extending your left leg to a 45-degree angle from the ground. Keeping your elbows wide, tuck your chin to your chest and curl up to the tips of your shoulder blades. ![]() Place hand over hand at the base of your skull. ![]() How to: Start lying on your back, knees tucked into your chest. "It's like you can feel your waist cinching with each repetition!" "This move quickly targets the obliques and brings movement to your spine, which we could all use," says Vehia Walker, senior instructor at Uptown Pilates. (Tone and tighten your entire body in less than 20 minutes with Women ās Health All in 18 DVDs !) Work toward straightening both legs at the same time until you can let go of thighs and reach arms forward, and eventually use tension cables for added resistance. When you're ready to progress, bring both legs up-you'll feel your lower abdominals pull the legs in toward your chest as you straighten. If balance is a struggle, hold onto the back of your thighs, continuing to practice until you can hold the position without gripping your thighs. Once you're comfortable in that position, lift one leg up in the air at a 45-degree angle above the ground. Tuck your pelvis under to roll back on your sacrum, keeping your spine in a "c" shape. How to: Start seated, knees bent, feet flat on the floor. "Achieving balance during this move is a sure sign that you're making progress and getting stronger." "Teaser is a quintessential Pilates exercise, but it takes practice to master it," says Heather Anderson, owner and program director of New York Pilates. RELATED: I Took Plank Breaks at Work Every Day for a Month-This Is What Happened Maintain a stable pelvis and an engaged core as you repeat for 15 reps. On the next exhale, reach the left leg out, then inhale to draw it back in. Inhale to draw the leg back in to tabletop position. Exhale to engage your transversus abdominis, and extend your right leg out to 45 degrees. Exhale and float your legs up to tabletop position. the natural āSā-shaped curve is maintained, and you have a small space under your low back). How to: Start lying on your back with a neutral spine (a.k.a. ![]() "By doing this exercise (among others) each day, you should achieve a newfound connection to your deep abdominal muscles that can be carried into your daily life for truly belly-flattening results." "I love the single-leg stretch because it reinforces the engagement patterns of the transversus abdominis while challenging its strength," says Bloom. Do 'em weekly and, when paired with proper nutrition, you'll have the strong, flat stomach you've always wanted. ![]() Now that you're begging to add Pilates to your regular routine (it's cool, we are too), check out these seven moves from top Pilates instructors. All of this, combined with correct alignment of your pelvis and spine so that all the proper muscles are recruited, comes together to create a sculpted look that leaves everyone with abs-envy. That freedom helps improve overall strength, she adds, while simultaneously working the "superficial" muscles of your core-the rectus abdominis, obliques, and back muscles. "These muscles draw the belly in to create a flat stomach, and provide stability and support to the pelvis and torso so that your extremities can find both power and freedom of movement." How? "Pilates exercises tend to target all of the muscles of the core, and specifically what I call the deep-core four: the transversus abdominus, multifidi, pelvic floor, and diaphragm," says Erika Bloom, founder of Erika Bloom Pilates in New York City. The technique is crazy-effective for strengthening and sculpting the stomach, giving you the hard-as-a-rock abs you crave. Look at any fitness instructor you love and there's likely one thing they all have in common: They do Pilates.
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