Pilates coach Jolanta Mitraite shares six simple moves you can do at home to get flatter and firmer abs.
STANDING KNEE LIFT
APreparation position Stand with your legs wide apart. Bend one leg and transfer the weight on to it. Stretch the other leg straight to the side and touch the floor with the tips of your toes. Keep one hand on your hip, the other extended overhead.
BWorking Exhaling, raise the knee of the straight leg to the elbow, bending the elbow to the knee. The elbow and knee meet. Hold for a second and return to the starting position.
●Repeat 15 timeswith3sets each side.
STANDING KNEE TO ELBOW
APreparationposition
Start as for Standing Knee Lift, but with hands behind your head on the base of the neck. Do not cross your fingers but place one hand on top of the other.
BWorking
While exhaling, raise knee of the straight leg to the opposite elbow, trying to bring the knee to the elbow and elbow to the knee, then lower. ●Repeat 15 times with 3sets each side.
SINGLE LEG STRETCH
APreparation position
Lie on your back with knees and hips bent to 90-degrees, with the knees slightly open, and feet together. Put your hands behind your head, on the base of the neck. With control, raise your shoulders off the floor, looking at the navel.
BWorking
Stretch one leg forward and pull the other back, knee to chest, then do the same on the other side. Keep your abdominal muscles drawn into the spine. Breathe in a rhythm that is comfortable for you to sustai
●Repeat 20 timeswith 3setseachside.
SINGLE STRAIGHT LEG DOWN
APreparationposition
Lie on your back, arms beside your body, palms down. Straighten your legs and raise them to the ceiling. Make sure your back is flat on the floor. To make it safer for your back, place your hands under your hips and try to bend your legs at the knees.
BWorking
With your stomach pulled in and inhaling, lower one leg down as far as you can while keeping your back on
