Four Great Exercises to Tone Your Midsection

As we enter the new year, we are overcome with the desire to commit to the famed New Years resolutions. 'Tis the season! For most of us, the decision to get in shape is what we resolve to do in the new year. Before you get a chance to fall off the wagon, here are four simple exercises that will help tighten and tone your midsection. By doing these every day and doing a little more every day, you can guarantee that the only thing jiggling at the beach this summer will be the jellyfish!

1. Lower Leg Raises with two variations:

Lay flat on your back with your legs extended straight out in front of you. Place your arms with your palms face-down. Keeping your back pressed flat into the floor, lift both of your legs about six inches off of the ground. For beginners, simply do two sets of twenty leg raises. If you feel you are a bit more advanced, when you raise your legs, spread them about two feet apart then bring them back together before setting them back on the floor and do two sets of twenty of these. These exercise target the lower abdominals and also, as the advanced variations increase in difficulty, your middle abdominal area.

2. The Pilates "Frog"

This one is my personal favorite. Lay on the floor on your back with your hands behind your head. Now, spread your legs slightly and press the bottoms of your feet together; it should look as if you are doing a plié while lying down, yet your feet are together "frog style." Then carefully lift both your upper body and lower body about 6 inches off the floor using your abdominal muscles to support you, hold for two seconds and then lower your upper and lower body back to the floor. This will be a bit uncomfortable at first, but start off with three sets of fifteen of these. It may sound like an awkward number, but this is a great exercise and starting off at fifteen yields the most results and is much easier to handle than it appears. This exercise targets the middle and lower abdominals, and, if you feel you can advance, target your upper abdominals by alternating lifting your lower body, then your upper body, lifting each a bit higher than you would have when lifting both simultaneously; make sure you lift each part in two sets of fifteen.

3. Side Lifts

I love this exercise because of what an easy exercise it is. Stand upright with your feet separated about should-width apart. Hold a 10 pound weight in your left hand letting it rest at your side and place your right hand on your right hip; this helps stabilize your position, making your stance sturdier. Very slowly, still holding the weight in your left hand, bend to your left side (without bending your knees). Hold this position for 3-5 seconds and then, using your abdominal muscles by tightening them, pull your body upright again. Repeat this between ten and fifteen times for beginners; for more advanced exercisers, fifteen and twenty times. Switch the weight to your right hand, put your left hand on your left hip and repeat on your right side. This targets your oblique muscles.

4. Criss-Cross

This is a fairly well known exercise that targets your upper and mid abdominals as well as your obliques. Lay flat on the floor with your legs bent very slightly at the knee and your hands resting behind your head as if you were doing sit ups. Now, lift and twist your upper body, bringing your left elbow forward as if you were doing a sideways sit-up. At the same time, draw your right knee up and in towards your chest until it meets your left elbow and extend your left leg out, hovering between 6 inches and 2 feet off the ground (depending upon your advancement level and flexibility). Switch sides and repeat in a fluid motion between twenty and thirty times. If you can, do two sets of these per exercise session. Spreading them out is fine, and it occasionally helps if you place a pillow beneath your lower back.