You may
or may not know this about me but I used to be a long-distance
runner. That was about 50 pounds ago... :)
But one
of the most useful things I picked up in my time as a runner
was a technique for really tightening up the waist fast -
especially the love handle area, which is always a target
for people.
Relax
- I'm not going to make you do any long-distance running!
You'll be using this technique with interval training for
maximum effectiveness.
The technique
I'm going to tell you about does require either a treadmill
or a road/track. You want to be keeping a pace that is a fairly
fast run but not a sprint.
For me,
I set the treadmill speed to 10 and go for 30 seconds per
interval - it's about 85% of a full sprint for me - the advantage
of the treadmill is that it forces you to keep the same pace.
The problem, of course, is that is you need one.
You can
do this same technique on the road, though, and calorie-burning-wise,
it'll be more effective for the simple reason that you have
to propel yourself forward. The treadmill does that for you.
It's a tradeoff - this will work on both.
Now, I
don't have pictures or video of this technique because, to
be honest, it wouldn't really show you anything other than
me running. Yee ha.
The whole
thing with this is all in how you set yourself while running
and how you visualize your stride and body movement. Basically,
you have to feel it in yourself rather than see it in action.
So here's
what to do while you're running...
1.
Run "Tall"
VERY IMPORTANT
- Keep your chest high, shoulders back and your back straight
- don't let your shoulders hunch forward and don't sag forward.
You need to keep VERY good posture for this to work. If you
hunch forward, you will compress the abs and lose the effect
of this technique.
Imagine
like you're a marionette on a string and the string is attached
to the top of your head. Someone is pulling up on that string,
pulling your torso up and body straight, making you as tall
as possible. Run in that position.
2. Relax The Abs
As you're
running, try to RELAX your entire core. Don't clench it up
- concentrate on breathing easily and deeply but not tightening
up the abs. Think of it like you're pulling in your abs like
a vaccuum, e.g. as you keep your chest high, suck your abs
in. Stand up and try this right now - you'll notice that as
you breathe deeply and your rib cage rises up, your abs have
to relax anyway because they're getting stretched.
3. Separate Upper and Lower Body In Your Mind
Next,
think of your upper body and lower body as two separate parts
of a machine. The lower body is the propulsion, the upper
body is the balance. The abs are the "joint" in
between the two.
4. Reach Forward And Wring Your Abs
As you're
running, try to "reach" forward with every stride,
trying to get as long a stride as possible - basically, trying
to get your leg as far forward as you can. As you reach forward
with your leg, reach forward with your opposing shoulder as
well.
So if
you're stepping forward with your right foot, your left shoulder
is coming forward. Your hips and shoulders are rotating in
opposite directions on each stride. You're basically wringing
your abs out on each stride! Each step is putting maximum
rotation on the core.
And because
your rib cage is elevated and your frontal abdominals are
relaxed, this tension and torque gets transferred through
the obliques and transverse abdominus (the rotational muscle
of the core).
With every
single step you take, you're doing a very effective trunk-twist
exercise!
Summary:
When doing
this, I would recommend at least 5 to 10 intervals of 30 seconds
using this technique. Use a good pace and keep practicing
the main points in your mind.
1. Run
tall
2. Relax the core
3. Separate upper and lower body
4. Reach with each stride and wring out the abs
Give this
a try on your next cardio session and I think you'll really
feel the difference! This is one of my very favorite "secret"
techniques for tightening up the love handles FAST!
