Abdominal Toners

The following moves are ideal for strengthening abdominal muscles, toning mid-section, and stimulating digestive and eliminative organs.

Single Leg Lift

Lie on your back with hands under lower hips (to assist in keeping lower back on the ground). Inhale to prepare, and exhale to compress your abdominal muscles into your spine, maintain this compression through the duration of the exercise. As you inhale slowly lift your right leg up as high as you can without the left leg lifting or hips twisting. Exhale and slowly release and repeat on left leg. Repeat 10-20 repetitions keeping lower back grounded, and head and neck relaxed.

Double Leg Lift

Lie on your back with hands under lower hips. Inhale to prepare and exhale to compress your abdominal muscles, keeping lower back grounded throughout exercise. Inhale to lift both legs up to 90 degrees. Exhale to slowly lower until legs are just hovering over the ground, then inhale to lift again. Be sure that your back doesn’t arch when you lift your legs, ensure that you are lifting and lowering from compressed abdominals only. For more intensity release your hands from under hips. For even more intensity raise your arms overhead during the exercise.

30-30-30

To further intensify the Double Leg Lift, you can lower the legs just 30% pause for a small breath, lower another 30% and pause, then a final 30% so that you are hovering just over the ground, then lift legs back to start with control and repeat. Repeat this exercise 10-20 times, as long as you can complete the movement with control and respecting the integrity of the spine.

Active Morningstar

Lie on your back with arms extended to sides. Inhale to lift right knee to chest, then exhale and rotate through the waist to bring right knee to the ground on the left side of the body. Inhale to return to start and repeat. For more intensity keep your leg straight.

For even more intensity perform this exercise with both legs together, knees bent.

For even more intensity work with double legs and keep them straight throughout the exercise.

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