You’ve tried countless workout programs and diets to lose the flab around your torso, but nothing has worked. This year, you want to finally be able to confidently step out on the beach. The torso and midsection are often overlooked when training, however this can become a problem area, both for your overall health and posture and for the fat that likes to acumulate around there, if you neglect to practice certain strength-building and conditioning moves.
A poor diet is often too blame too, it’s a reason why the flub isn’t moving… just becoming bigger. Jorge Cruise, celebrity trainer and author of Tiny and Full, knows a thing or two about sculpting a tight body that you’ll be excited to flaunt this year. Here heshares what exercises you should be doing and the foods that you should be avoiding. It’s time to start getting bikini-body ready now.
The Exercises
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Russian Twist
Targets: internal and external obliques
How to Do It: Sit with knees bent and feet together on the floor. Keeping your head, shoulders, and chest all in one line, engage your abs and lean back about 45 degrees, lifting your feet a few inches off the floor. Twist your torso and arms as one unit from side to side, keeping your abdominal muscles engaged. Continue moving side to side.
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Plank Row
Targets: abdominals, biceps, deltoids, pectorals and shoulders
How to Do It: Start in push-up position. Draw right elbow up so that hand comes to rib cage. Lower to starting position, and repeat on left side. Alternate sides, dropping to knees when necessary.
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Crab Kick
Targets: lower abdominals, obliques, hamstrings, glutes and lower back
How to Do It: Sit on the floor with the bottom of your feet flat on the floor. Place your hands about one foot behind you, palms flat. Make sure your chest is lifted. Lean into your hands and lift your butt off the floor. Kick right leg up and then lower. Repeat with left. Alternate legs with no rest in between kicks. This is similar to crab walks, except you alternate kicking each leg instead of walking forward.
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Slalom Jump
Targets: internal, external obliques and glutes
How to Do It: Start with both feet together and your hands in front of you (elbows at your side), as if you’re holding ski poles. Jump and twist your upper body in the right and your feet to the left. Then jump up and twist your upper body to the left and your feet to the right. Repeat.
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WHAT TO EAT (AND NOT EAT)
Stay Away From:
Try to avoid foods that are calorie-dense. This means foods that they are low in volume, but high in calories, which could result in overeating or consuming more calories than you actually need. Any foods that are processed and packaged are a red flag for calorie-dense foods too.
In a study published in the Journal of Obesity, at the University of South Wales, women who performed HIIT just three times a week lost more subcutaneous and abdominal fat than those who did low-impact exercise. They spot-reduced their belly fat, which isn’t supposed to be possible according to older research, but now we know that HIIT stimulates the catecholamine receptors in your abdominal muscles. You turn on the receptors and the adrenaline mobilizes the fat in your belly and burns it up during your workout.
HIIT is more often referred to as intense interval training, which is simply a workout made up of alternating short intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods. I’ve designed these workouts to do just this. You’ll simply per-form the four circuit exercises for 7 minutes, take a quick rest, then perform the other four circuit exercises for another 7 minutes, rest, and repeat the entire workout a second time. By doing this just three times a week, you’ll burn belly fat, boost your heart rate, and condition every muscle in your body.
Warm Up
Cycle 1
Rest 30–60 seconds
Cycle 2
Rest 30–60 seconds
Cycle 1
Rest 30–60 seconds
Cycle 2
Rest 30–60 seconds
Cool Down
It’s time to get your move on!
Do these moves three times a week on nonconsecutive days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday). These workouts are all you need to activate the powerful fat-mobilizing catecholamines and burn off belly fat in a way that’s far more effective than working out every single day. Plus, because of the intense nature of your workout, you need a day off in between workouts.
