At Home with Dr Christian Jessen - 200

FL AT OUT

NICK ANDERSON, RUNNING EXPERT AND
COACHING EDITOR ON RUNNING WEBSITE
WWW.THERUNNINGBUG.CO.UK: 'Running is a
great cardiovascular exercise and burns plenty of calories,
even on an easy-paced outing. Run tall with a slight
forward lean and hold your posture. Form is everything
and running with good posture will increase your ab
strength, especially on ever-changing surfaces. Try to
keep your lower abs and pelvis engaged, and feel as
though you're pushing forwards from the centre of
your body and core as you run.'

PERFECT COMBO
NICK: 'After some of your runs each week, spend 15
minutes working on core exercises such as the finger
crusher, plank and bridge. These will strengthen
your core muscles and abs. A run, burning lots of calories,
combined with a core-strengthening routine, is almost
the perfect all-round workout - abs of steel, plus plenty
of calories burned through cardio.'

STAND TALL
JOANNA HALL, DIET AND MOVEMENT EXPERT
(JOANNAHALL.COM): 'Standing Abdominal Js are
my best ab exercises - get them right and it flattens and
instantly improves how you look. It targets the abdominal
midriff area like a corset. Stand with good posture and
your weight even on both feet. Visualise a capital letter J
in front of you. In your head, trace over the J with your
abdominals. Starting at the bottom, scoop out your abs
and then draw them in and up towards your sternum as if
drawing up the long part of the letter J. Pull your tummy
muscles in and up without expanding your rib cage or
taking deep breaths or holding your breath. Hold this
contraction for a count of 10, then relax down for 10.

'A RUN, BURNING LOTS OF
CALORIES, COMBINED WITH A
CORE STRENGTHENING ROUTINE,
IS THE PERFECT WORKOUT'

WALK ON BY
JOANNA: 'See cups of water when you're walking!
This simple visualisation exercise helps to flatten a saggy
tummy, stabilise your pelvis and create firm abdominals.
The power muscles of your legs are attached to the pelvis
and, if the pelvis is stable, you'll get more propulsion with
each stride. As you walk, imagine you have a cup of water
balanced on each hip. With each stride, you must ensure
the cups are balanced and not spilling.' Visit Joanna's
website for more on her Walkactive fitness programme.

MIND THE GAP
JOE WARNER, EDITOR OF DIGITAL FITNESS APP
IRONLIFE (AVAILABLE ON iTUNES): 'Research
overwhelmingly shows that interval training - where you
switch between periods of fast, medium and slower recovery
exercise - is the single best way to burn excess fat and improve
cardiovascular fitness. When you exercise at a "steady
200 | MARCH 2015

COMPILED BY: GEORGINA MARIC | PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES

Repeat five to 10 times. Make sure your ribcage is down, your
chest isn't puffed up and your bottom is relaxed. You should
feel you're drawing your abdominals in and up at the same
time. The up part of the letter J is very important, as this is
the movement that flattens the abs and helps to lift the hips.'
http://WWW.THERUNNINGBUG.CO.UK http://www.JOANNAHALL.COM
At Home with Dr Christian Jessen

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