The Physique 57 Solution (12 page)

Step your feet back and straighten your legs so that your body forms a straight line from your head to your feet. Keep your abdominal muscles engaged and your seat tight—don’t let your belly droop toward the floor.

Bend your elbows to lower your chest as far as you can toward the floor, and then push back up to straighten your arms.

Use your abdominal muscles to keep your body long like a plank throughout this exercise.

Connecting with your core while lifting your legs sculpts both the front and the back of your body—how efficient!

Begin in a full-form Push-Up position (
here
) with your legs slightly apart.

Soften your elbows slightly and strongly pull in your abdominal muscles to keep your hips in line with the rest of your body.

Now lift your right leg off the floor and, keeping it straight and your toes pointed, pulse it upward toward the ceiling. This is a small, controlled movement—only about 2 or 3 inches. Continue pulsing at a good pace.

Now switch sides.

This is one of the best moves ever for toning your middle and revving up your metabolism. Resting on your forearms pushes you to engage your back and core muscles on a much deeper level and allows you to perform more multitasking variations than you can in a regular plank position. It requires a bit of concentration, but now is the time to really start bringing your body and mind together. Keep that abdominal wall tight!

From a kneeling position, lean forward and place your forearms on the floor shoulder-width apart, with your palms facing down and your elbows directly underneath the shoulders. Keep your hips and torso off the floor.

Press your legs back and straighten them as long as possible behind you while resting on your forearms for balance. Keep your abdominal wall tight and don’t let your hips sink down. Your feet are flexed, toes pressing into the floor, and your neck is straight, in line with your spine. This is your starting position.