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Five super exercises you're not doing

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Vesna Jacob
Vesna JacobDec 18, 2014 | 19:21

Five super exercises you're not doing

#1 What: Zipping the jeans and Kegel

Why: One of woman's greatest nemeses is the loss of look and shape, and the lack of control of the lower abdomen. Things only get worse post-delivery and with age. Think of the pelvis as a fruit bowl that holds your ovaries, uterus, intestines and all the other organs where gravity is constantly pulling it down. Lower abdominal exercises that are usually done in a linear (up and down way) and towards the gravitational pull rather than away from it don't stand much chance and everything that sits in our pelvic bowl gets pushed even further down.

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How to do it: The simple action of "zipping the jeans" should do the trick. Think of all those times when you were trying to fit yourself into a really tight pair of jeans, so you had to "scoop" the stomach really in, and lift it up. This is that exact motion you should keep on doing while exercising and even at other times as often as you can think of it. This decompresses and lifts up everything away from the pelvic bowl. If you add Kegel exercises to this you've got yourself a winner. Try doing both of these movements before each and every exercise you do.

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#2 What: Straight Cross-legged Crunches

Why: This exercise is designed to boost activity in the lower abdominal area.

How to do it: Lie down on the back, fully stretch out both legs, placing one on top of another. Interlock the fingers on the base of your head. Once in this position, squeeze your crossed knees as tightly as you can. This will automatically engage your lower abs. Now all you've got to do before doing crunches is zipping and scooping. Do at least ten to 20 reps.

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#3 What: Sweeping Walking Lunges

Why: Besides toning your legs and aiding in getting better balance, sweeping walking lunges work wonders for lifting and shaping your backside.

How to do it: This is a new take on regular on good old walking lunges - the difference being the steps should be as long as you can possibly muster. The back should remain straight or slightly leaning forward, and as you go down your hand should touch the floor and move as if you are sweeping it. As you are coming up to make another step you should push through the glutes, hamstrings, and quads and feel a deep abdominal engagement as you are working against the gravitational force. Do at least ten to 20 steps alternating between right and left.

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#4 What: 3D exercises

Why: As our understanding of the human body is increasing our exercise and conditioning philosophy are also evolving. One of the things that are becoming more and more prominent in the fitness world is called 3D exercising and stretching. Basically, this means that we have the space of 360 degrees around us available for the movement as well as three dimensions - height, depth, and width which we should explore during each and every movement.

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How to do it: The next time you do your squats, apart from going up and down, hold the position for a bit and move your hips with arms overhead from side to side. Let the hips being your drivers and add a rotational movement with the hips. You should experience much deeper engagement of your muscles in the entire body (the entire kinetic chain) and will get your core muscles to work as well.

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#5 What: Plank and Push-ups Variations

Why: Most women shy away from upper body workouts, which results in imbalances both in strength and appearance. Combination of push-ups and planks and their variations can help you work on the entire body without losing out on developing upper body strength.

How to do it: If you are not strong enough in the beginning to do a full push-up on the ground you can always start by doing a push-up against the wall. The variation element can be pulling one hand to the chest as in running or marching or changing the hand position by placing one hand higher than the other or in any position using the 3D principle. Do two to three sets with as many variations as possible.

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Last updated: December 18, 2014 | 19:21
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