Happy Fun Fit Friday!

Today I want to share with you the BEST Exercise to Target Your Abs & Get a Flat Tummy.

Since my post baby photoshoot I’ve been getting a lot of emails from moms asking what are the best exercises to do to get rid of the mommy belly.

First off let me stress that what and how you eat has the greatest impact on your ability to get a Flat Tummy. Have you heard the saying “Your abs are built in the kitchen”?? It’s the truth!

It doesn’t matter how many crunches you do, you will never lose the layer of fat covering your abs unless you commit to eating right for fat loss.

So many mom’s and women in general spend all their time preforming isolated ab exercises thinking that it will shrink their waist line.

Sorry ladies, but the TRUTH is you CANNOT crunch your way to a smaller waist!

To achieve a tight and tiny waist you have to work from the inside out!

You have to….Fuel your body with good clean nutrition, consistency!

And….

You have to…..Strengthen Your Core!

Today’s blog post is dedicated to the best exercises you can do to develop a strong core.

Your core is comprised of the rectus abdominus, the transverse abdominus and the internal and external obliques

As you can see, your core muscles wrap all the way around your midsection and act almost like a corset.  They are not just just the muscles you see in the front of the stomach on someone sporting sexy six pack abs.

When you are training your core you must not neglect those deepest inner muscles that work to support and stabilize your spine and your pelvis.

This is especially important for new moms who need to regain their core strength and repair these muscles that have been over stretched through the course of her pregnancy.

The truth is crunches are the WORST exercise a new mom can do to try and strengthen her core.  Crunches preformed without being mindful of engaging those deeper core muscles can actually result in greater abdominal separation.

The #1 Best Exercise to achieve a Flat Tummy is…drumroll please!!!

The Plank

Yes, the Plank! It is the most basic, yet the most effective core exercise you can do.

Done properly, the plank exercise can be extremely taxing, but with practice you can quickly increase your endurance and the length of time you hold this pose.

Many of my Bootcamp girls who struggled to hold a 45sec plank in the beginning, are now beating their own personal best times of over 3mins. Amazing!

In the video below, I demonstrate how to perform a regular plank. I also share a couple variations to the regular plank that you can do to target your oblique’s and your butt.

So here is your Fun Fit Friday Challenge…

After you have watched the video above, grab your exercise mat and challenge yourself to hold a Regular Plank for 30sec, then transition to a side plank (without letting your butt touch the floor), complete a 30sec Side Plank w/ Hip Thrust on the right side and 30sec on the left side. Then transition back to the regular plank and complete a 30sec Plank w/ Alternating Leg Lift, for a total exercise time of 2min.  Your goal is to transition to each movement WITHOUT letting your butt touch the floor.

Besure to post how you did in the comment box below! 🙂

Now, don’t get me wrong isolated ab exercises have their place and importance in your training program, but if you want a tight, strong core it starts by incorporating stability exercises that work those deepest core muscles.

For more great stability core exercises I asked my good friend and pilates expert Sylvia Favela to share her top core exercises to help you strengthen those deepest core muscles.

Download her top picks here = http://www.pilatesworkout360.com/friendsofcourtney/

Add these core moves to the beginning of your workout this weekend and let me know which one was your favorite.  I LOVE the Waist Cincher Pull.  I can’t wait to share this one with my Bootcamp girls next week.

Have a great weekend! Keep it clean, lean and LYL Approved!