Effective Abdominal Exercises to Reduce Waist Size

Say goodbye to your saggy stomach with these tummy-tightening moves.

 

Reducing your waist takes dedication and a conscious effort to perfect your training technique. Old-fashioned crunches and sit-ups are out. If you really want to shrink that waist you must work your abs to their maximum in the most effective way possible.

1.Crossed pelvic lifts

Position: Lie on your back with both knees bent to 90 degrees. Lift your left leg and cross it over your right so that your lateral ankle is just below your knee. Raise the right leg so the thigh is vertical. Keep your arms by your sides, palms down, and raise your head and shoulders off the ground.

Movement: Draw your bellybutton in and raise your tailbone off the ground. Control the movement down again to a point just off the ground and then lift your tailbone up again.

Sets and reps: 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps

2. High-to-low woodchops

Position: Attach a resistance band to a high anchor point. Hold the handle with both hands, palms facing each other. Stand with your feet perpendicular to the band, shoulder-width apart, turn your torso towards the anchor point and extend your arms up.

Movement: Keeping your arms straight, sweep them diagonally across your body and finish outside your calf muscle. Use your abdominal muscles not your shoulders. Once you've finished all reps on one side, swap over.

Sets and reps: 3 sets of 12 to 20 reps each side

3. Side bridge twists

Position: Lie on your side with your body straight, leaning on your elbow, forearm pointing forward. Brace your core, front and sides. Raise your body off the ground so that you form a straight line, from shoulder to feet. Reach to the sky with your top arm.

Movement: Sweep the top arm down, take it under your body and reach as far back as possible, while holding your hips up.

Sets and reps: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps

4. Core climbers

Position: Assume a push-up position with your hands on a bench, feet shoulder-width apart, chest over your hands and your body in a straight line.

Movement: Raise one foot and bring the knee in towards your chest without moving or rotating your hips and torso. Repeat with the other leg.

Sets and reps: 3 sets of 20 to 30 reps

5. Sit-ups with twists

Position: Sit on the ground with knees bent. Lock your elbows into your ribs and hold a weight just in front of your bellybutton. n

Movement: Lower back and touch your mid-back to the ground. Sit three-quarters of the way up and twist to the left, then twist the other way. Lower and repeat, twisting to the right first.

Sets and reps: 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps

The secret to great abs

Place your hands around your waist above your hipbones. Press them in so they squeeze your waist in from all sides. Draw your muscles in so your waist circumference shrinks. Take your hands away and keep squeezing the muscles. Get a friend to tie a piece of string around your waist while this squeeze is happening. Now you have your own core sensor. If you switch off your core muscles, you'll feel the string pull and you'll remember to re-engage.

Four tips for a tiny waist

1. Diet: If you have a penchant for Friday-night pizza you need to reassess your goals. Successful waist whittling starts with a diet that is devoid of wasteful kilojoules. Eat regular, appropriately sized healthy meals and snacks, and watch your portion sizes and your intake of energy-dense foods.
2. Strength training: This is the king of fat-burning. It gets your fat furnace revved up and tones your muscles. Follow our ongoing weekly programs of great body-weight and free-weight strength exercises.
3. High-intensity cardio: Running, cycling, swimming or walking fast is ideal to shed your winter coat. Do interval training, alternating between high-intensity sprints and low-intensity active recovery.
4. Active lifestyle: Doing a solid half-an-hour workout followed by four hours on the couch is not a great whittling technique. Look for all the ways in your life in which you can be more active. Walk when you can and keep the couch for special occasions.

Our model

Abbey Poulsen, 26, a sales agent, competes in Physical Culture and trains for this three times a week. She also teaches dance classes.

Discover more fitness tips here.

Find out more about Damien Kelly.