Looking To Strengthen Your Abs? This Sequence Can Help

insider yoga staff | April 23, 2016 | Strength, Toning | No Comments

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This Sequence Really Works Your Core!

Core strength is all the rage these days and it’s easy to see why. The core muscles are essential to posture, balance, and overall health.

One to the most important core muscles you can work are those located near your stomach. The abs are a strong group of muscles and they need to worked in some way or another on a daily basis. These muscles keep all of the surrounding muscles in check. If you don’t have strong abs, the rest of your body can be negatively affected. There are so many ways to strengthen these muscles that if you are not into doing crunches or burpees there are other ways to work your core.

One way to easily strengthen your abs is by doing yoga. The following sequence targets your core muscles and is designed to strengthen the abs and help you break a sweat!

See the sequence below and share this with those you think would benefit from these exercises.

To you health and wellness!

By Audrey Bruno

Warrior III to Leg Up—do 5 to 10 reps on each side

Warrior III

From a standing position, shift your weight over to your right foot and keep your pelvis facing forward. Extend your left leg back so that your toes are touching the mat behind you and keep your hips stable.

With your hands at your hips to start, hinge forward on your right leg while you lift your leg up, keeping your spine long and your raised leg straight. Keep your pelvis facing the floor as well as the knee and toe of your raised leg.

Press back through your heel and reach forward through the crown of your head.

For more core work, extend your arms ahead of you with your shoulders down and back.

Transition to Leg Up

From Warrior III, lift your upper body back to standing while you lower the extended leg and bring it through to a raised position in front of you with a 90 degree bend at your hip and knee.

Continue to reach your arms up to encourage good posture with core center activation. For a challenge, move with breath from one pose to the other. Inhale to Leg Up and exhale to Warrior III.

Shoulder Touches in Plank Pose—do 20 to 30 reps

With your toes on the floor, shift forward so that your shoulders are directly over your wrists. Stabilize your shoulders against your rib cage without squeezing them together.

Reach long from your heels to the crown of your head with a strong core center.

Lift one hand to touch the opposite shoulder with little or no movement in your torso. Hold and switch sides. Move slowly and steadily to increase awareness of your entire body from your heel to the crown of your head with special attention to your core center and shoulder stability.

Opening Closing Side Plank Pose—repeat on opposite side

From Plank, stabilize your shoulders, making sure that they are directly over your wrists.

Lift one arm up and open into Side Plank. Use your oblique muscles to lift your hip to the sky while you reach further with your arm.

Take your raised arm and reach it down and under you while you stay lifted in your hips.