By Greg Fox & Courtney Farnet

Trainer Courtney’s Core Crushing Exercises to Tone the Waistline from the Inside Out

If you’re determined to bust that muffin top, here’s the good and bad news:  The good is it’s certainly possible to eat and exercise your way to six-pack abs.  The bad news is it’s not easy.

That sexy belly you crave is a product of what you put in it and how you work it out.  Maintain a healthy diet and get serious about exercising those abdominal muscles.

Your six-pack is there.  It’s just hidden below a soft layer of subcutaneous fat and, deeper, a gel-like layer of visceral fat.  While the subcutaneous fat is not a threat except to your waistline, it’s the visceral fat that’s dangerous.  It surrounds major organs and can change the way your body fights off diseases like cancer, dementia, heart disease and depression.     

You can start to lose subcutaneous fat by eating healthier, but the hazardous visceral fat responds better to exercise.  You could say that your six-pack is prepped in the kitchen and cooked in the gym!

Combine your healthy diet with the following exercises and 30 minutes of high-intensity interval training three or four days per week.  You’ll blast away your fat!  Run or cycle at max intensity for 30 seconds and rest for 10 seconds.  Replace those refined, processed, sugary foods with whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, low or free fat dairy, veggies and fiber.

Get ready!  Eat clean, train dirty and display your six-pack! 

Forearm Plank

1. Lie on your stomach.
2. Position elbows directly under shoulders and fists together.
3. Set knees hip distance apart and lift hips so they’re level with shoulders.
4. Lift knees and come to your toes.
5. Be sure to keep neck in line with spine and belly drawn in to support the lower back.
6. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds.

Side Plank with Hip Lifts

1. From a plank position, slowly rotate body open to one side, keeping hips lifted.
2. Supporting elbow is directly under shoulder and top arm is reaching up, perpendicular to the body.
3. Feet are stacked or split with top foot in front of bottom foot.

Leg Raise with Hip Lifts

1. Lie on your back with legs held straight in the air and arms extended with palms pressing into the ground for support.
2. Brace your abs and lift your legs and hips into the air.

Russian Twists

1. Sit with both feet on the floor.
2. Lean torso back to a 45-degree angle to create a V-shape between torso and thighs.
3. Clasp hands in front of abdomen.
4. Twist torso to the right and tap the floor with hands. Repeat to the left.

Replace those refined, processed, sugary foods with whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, low or free fat dairy, veggies and fiber.