Beginner: Tai Chi Sweep

(A) Stand tall with your feet wide, your abs pulled tightly inward, and bend your knees a few inches. Bend your elbows up and in front of you so that they are at waist height and both of your palms are facing toward the right. Pull your abs tightly inward.

(B) Keeping your abs pulled inward and the rest of your body rigid, twist to the right and sweep your arms as far across your body pushing the energy, or "chi," as you go.

(C) Immediately turn your palms toward the left and, by twisting from the waist, sweep your arms to the left. Continue alternating twists left and right.

Intermediate: Crossover Twist

(A) Stand tall with your feet hip width apart with your elbows bent and your hands behind
your ears. Pull your abs in tight.

(B) Lift your right knee as you twist from the waist to bring your left elbow toward it.
(Depending on your balance and flexibility you may or may not be able to touch your elbow to your knee.) Hold a moment and repeat with the opposite arm and leg. Continue alternating until you've completed all reps.

Advanced: The Flamingo Flex

(A) Stand tall with your feet hip width apart, your hands behind your head, elbows bent. Bend your right knee and lift it up and out to the side so that both your hip and knee are turned outward.

(B) Slowly bend from the waist and lower your right elbow toward your knee. (Depending on your balance and flexibility you may or may not be able to touch your elbow to your knee.) Hold a moment at the bottom of the movement and then slowly return to the start. Do all reps to the one side and then do an equal number of reps to the left.

Beginner: Basic Russian Twist

(A) Sit up tall on the edge of a sturdy chair with your toes on the floor, heels lifted. Bend your elbows and place your hands behind your head without lacing your fingers together. Pulling your abs inward, lean back a few inches from the hips.

(B) Maintaining strong abs and a slight backwards lean, twist left and right from the waist until you've completed all reps.

Intermediate: One Leg Russian Twist

(A) Sit up tall on the edge of a sturdy chair with your right toe on the floor, heel lifted and your left leg bent and held a few inches up off the floor in front of you. Bend your elbows and place your hands behind your head without lacing your fingers together. Pulling your abs inward, lean back a few inches from the hips.

(B) Maintaining strong abs and a slight backward lean, twist your left elbow toward your right knee and then return to the start. Hold a moment at the bottom of the movement and then slowly return to the start. Do all reps to the one side and then do an equal number of reps to the left.

Advanced: Russian Twist Balance

(A) Sit up tall on the edge of a sturdy chair with your toes pointed and your knees bent. Raise both feet off the floor a few inches. Bend your elbows and place your hands behind your head without lacing your fingers together. Pulling your abs inward, lean back a few inches from the hips. (B) Maintaining strong abs and a slight backward lean, twist left and right from the waist until you've completed all reps.

Beginner: Side Bridge

(A) Lie on your right side with your bent knees slightly forward of your body and your feet tucked behind you. Bend your right elbow and rest your forearm along the floor so that your right hand is out in front of you and place your left palm in front of your chest for balance and support as needed. Pull your abs in tight.

(B) Keeping your abs pulled strongly inward, lift your torso and hips off the floor and hold for a slow count of 20. As you hold, concentrate on letting your abdominal muscles do all of the work and keeping your neck, shoulders and lower back relaxed.

(C) Slowly lower to the start, rest briefly, and repeat twice before switching to the other side.

Intermediate: Slow Bicycles

(A) Lie on your back with your left knee bent toward your chest, your right leg extended and a few inches off the floor. Place your hands behind your head, fingertips touching; curl your head, neck and shoulders up. Rotate from your middle so that your right elbow is pointing toward your left knee.

(B) Hold the starting position for a slow 3 count, then slowly rotate to the other side by bending your right knee and extending your left leg as your left elbow moves toward your right knee. Again, hold slow 3 count. Continue rotating to complete reps.

Advanced: Ab Circles

(A) Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet hip width apart, flat on the floor. Place your hands behind your head but don't lace your fingers together. Round your elbows outward, tuck your chin slightly, and pull your abdominals in toward your spine. To start, lift your head, neck and shoulder blades off the floor and hold.

(B) Make a small clockwise circle with your waist: Bend a small distance to the left, curl a small distance upward, bend a small distance to the right, and then lower a small distance downward. This is one repetition. Do an equal number of reps in a counterclockwise direction.

Below, you'll find a variety of cardio activities that target your waistline while burning calories.

Activity	Calorie Burn
Belly Dancing	300
Kickboxing	615
Martial Arts	610
Mountain Biking	520
Race Walking	400
Rowing	430

Additional Notes - Many of the exercises call for you to "pull your abs inward" or "keep your abs tight." To do this, imagine you are wearing a girdle, and you are pulling it tight to cinch your middle inward. Now imagine your girdle is two sizes smaller -- that is what "pulling inward" should feel like.

- Always exhale through your mouth when you are exerting an effort and inhale through your nose when you are releasing the effort. Proper breathing will ensure that you use even more abdominal fibers.

- You may need to do a beginner version of some moves to be able to handle an advanced version of another move. The exercises are laid out progressively. In other words, the exercises in each category build upon the skills and muscle strength you've mastered in the previous moves.

- Don't overdo it! Two to three sessions a week is more than enough to see results. Stick to the recommended reps for each exercise. One to three sets of each exercise in a routine will be enough to get you results. Start with one set of each and gradually build from there.

- Also remember to drink plenty of water! You've probably heard it a million times before, and it's true: You should drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Not only does it help reduce water retention caused by excess sodium, but water also helps the body metabolize stored fat into energy and suppresses the appetite. All these factors can help reduce your love handles.

- Do crunches! Although increasing the amount of muscle in your abdominal region will help reduce the appearance of love handles, keep in mind that spot reduction doesn't work. You can do all the crunches in the world, but they'll most likely be useless if you don't do any cardiovascular exercise and eat properly, as mentioned below.
That being said, there are a number of exercises that target your oblique abs and love handles more specifically. Try elbow-to-knee crunches: Cross your left leg over your right leg and twist your torso, bringing your right elbow to your left knee. Do as many reps as you can. Repeat on the other side.

- Dumbbell side bends are another great exercise to target the muscles under your love handles. Standing up, hold one dumbbell at your side and slowly bend your torso sideways, letting the dumbbell descend toward the floor. Slowly straighten up to the starting position using the strength of your abdominal muscles. Do 15 reps on each side.

- Once again, it comes down to burning calories so that they aren't stored as fat. Whether it's by hitting the treadmill at the gym, playing basketball with some buddies, walking to work, or even taking the stairs instead of the elevator, every little step counts. Of course, the amount of cardio you must do all depends on how bad those handles really are. If you have a lot of weight to lose, you should probably seriously consider that gym membership. If the problem is minor, some low-intensity exercise may be sufficient.


(from ThinkThinTips on xanga)