· Crunches with your legs elevated. Keep your legs up on a couch or chair OR to make it the most effective, lift them up in the air with no support. This allows the upper muscle section of your abs to be worked more by not allowing your hip and leg muscles to assist in the action.
- To Perform: Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and thighs in the vertical position. Your lower legs should be parallel to the floor. Keeping your legs up without support of the couch/chair will make it more difficult as mentioned above. Place your hands at the sides of your head and slowly lift your shoulders off the floor and “curl” your torso. Hold for about 1-2 seconds and slowly return back down. Repeat 10-15 more times.

· The reverse curl. This action works the lower portion of your abs, the section just below your belly button.
-To Perform: Lie flat on your back with your hands at your sides, palms on the floor. Bend your knees and hips to form a 90 degree angle. Your lower legs should be horizontal and your thighs should be vertical. You should now contract your abs muscles while, slowly, lifting your hips about 3 inches off the floor. Push your palms into the floor to balance your body as you lift your legs and hips. Slowly lift your hips, hold for 1-2 seconds, and then slowly lower back down.

· The Decline Bench. The bench with the comfy padding makes your abs workout much more challenging. Your body has to fight the force of gravity to perform this exercise.
-To Perform: Start with a bench angle of about 30 degree decline. Lock your legs to prevent yourself from falling over. At this point, your head and shoulders will be at a 30 degree below horizontal. Your goal will be to lift your upper body 30 degrees above horizontal. Your torso should curl during any abs exercises rather that use your hip muscles to lift your upper body.

· The Crossover Crunch. This routine will work your side muscles known as your obliques. These are the muscles that give you that slim “V” look which tighten up that “muffin top” look.
-To Perform: Again, you would need to lie on your back with your hands at the sides of your head (near your ears). Your right leg should be bent with your foot flat to the floor and your left ankle should rest on your right knee. As you slowly raise and twist your torso, touch your right elbow to your left knee. Make sure you keep your elbows out to your sides and not in the front. Repeat this step 8-12 times and switch your right ankle to your left knee with opposite elbows.

· Basketball, racquetball, swimming, kickboxing and tennis. These exercises will give you that aerobic workout that can burn the fat off your midsection. They work the waist muscles like no other exercises do by turning, twisting and pulling, which can burn about 500 calories per hour.
-To Perform: Get out and play!

Check back for a few more bonuses

Check out a great book on abs training.
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Loukas
“No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child.” – Abraham Lincoln

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