To get those tummies tight, try a couple of new and challenging moves to really put the pressure on those love handles. Robin Retherford shows us how to work your back and abs at the same time.  “We all want that flat tummy, especially in the lower abs. And the key to having lower, flat, lower abdominals is to have a good, strong, lower back. So the way I like to work my abdominals is to be able to work both muscles at the same time. So I take more of a dancer’s approach to doing crunches and abdominals and really focus on keeping those lower abdominals contracted the entire time you’re using them and working the lower back at the same time. 

Your opposition muscles need to be equally strong…strong abs help you have a strong back. For the first exercise, we squeezed our abs in and raised our arms above head. Talk about a challenge—this is tough to do and we haven’t even added the actual exercises. Robin calls this move the suck, suck, and roll…cause she wants you to suck your tummy in, roll your back into a rounded position, then come back up. Because this exercise is so efficient, you only need to do 8 to 10 repetitions, holding the isometric posture for just a couple seconds.

Ditto for this exercise…a little more advanced. Squeeze your abs, lift your legs, bend your knees then separate legs. Just a few of these, and you’ll know you’re getting the job done. For Fitness Magazine, I’m Bonnie Kaye