Monday's Daily Dose
Pressed for time? Good thing you can carve a solid core with just four moves.
Pilates is king when it comes to strengthening your middle, but it’s no slouch for total-body toning, either. "It's resistance training, pure and simple, because you work with your own body weight in every move," says Alycea Ungaro, owner of Real Pilates in New York City.
Want a sexier silhouette? Challenge muscles big and small with this week’s free 15-Minute Pilates workout that you can download to your iPod.
Fix it with Pilates!
Pilates helps with more than just a stronger core. We asked Ellen Barrett, creator of Crunch: Burn & Firm Pilates video and DVD, for a few ways to correct life's little imbalances with simple pilates moves. Pick what's ailing you and pose your way out of it:
Desk-Bound
You hunch over the keyboard, with rounded shoulders and a stiff neck. Open up your hips and chest with the cross-legged heart lift. Sit cross-legged with palms flat behind you, fingers pointing away from body, and elbows straight. Press hips toward the ceiling; point knees to the floor. Gently drop head back and look up. Return to start. Repeat four times.
Gym Junkie
You're sore from working out. Try the C-spine squeeze. Start on all fours, with hands underneath shoulders and knees beneath hips. Curl left hip toward left shoulder so your back forms a C. Return to center and repeat to the left. Do 10 reps.
Sleep-Deprived
Increase your circulation with the Little Piece of Heaven. Begin in child's pose with arms outstretched, palms on the floor. Keeping knees on the floor, bring your body up and forward into a modified pushup position. Do the pushup, then press back into child's pose. Do 10 reps.
from : http://www.womenshealthmag.com
