Hi, I'm Denise Austin and welcome to my all new Superstomachs and Healthy Back video. I've got a great workout plan for you that's really going to strengthen those abdominal muscles. And stronger abdominal muscles mean a trimmer waistline. Let me show you now the muscles that we will be working. Starting at the sternum and running all the way down to the pelvic bone is one of the longest muscles of the body. It's called the rectus abdominis. Along the sides of the waistline there are two groups. They're called the internal and external obliques. These sometimes are referred to as love handles. Then there's the deepest lying muscle, the transverse abdominis. It helps with breathing. Stronger abdominal muscles also mean a pain free back. Did you know that 80% of Americans who suffer from lower back pain, sometimes it's a result of weak abdominal muscles? If you just keep those abdominal muscles strong, it acts as a girdle for the spine. The more the girdle, the better the support and the healthier your back stays. I've always believed the abdominal muscles are the core of your whole body. When the core is strong, you'll improve your posture, you'll look better, you'll appear taller and even more confident. You know, posture plays a key role in keeping your tummy flat. When you slouch forward, your tummy has no outs to go but out. But when you stand up or sit up nice and tall, your tummy has a place to stay, tucked in. So throughout the day, I want you to make a conscious effort to really keep in your abdominal muscles. Now here's the secret. What I like to do during the day, if I'm driving to work or I'm standing in line at the grocery store, tense your tummy muscles for 10 seconds and that's equal to one sit up. So you could be doing these sit ups without anyone even knowing it. There are a couple of things that you should know to get the most out of your workout. One of them has to do with the importance of quality over quantity. What determines great results is performing a few exercises correctly rather than doing a hundred sit ups with incorrect form. Remember, quality over quantity. Secondly, an important element of correct abdominal exercises is to breathe properly. We call it abdominal breathing. It takes a little practice. So let me show you some great ways that you can practice breathing properly. Place both hands on your tummy. Now take a deep breath. Send all the air down to your fingers. If you're doing this right, they should expand just like a balloon filling up with air. Now as you exhale, let your fingers move inward towards the spine, deflating that balloon. Now let's try it again. Inhale, fill that balloon up and exhale. Deflate that balloon. Again, inhale and exhale. Feel that tummy flatten. Great. Now when you get the hang of it, you'll see how much more energy you'll have to complete the entire super stomachs workout. Now let me give you a few simple head to toe tips that will help you achieve maximum results in a minimum of time. When lifting up, keep your neck in a neutral position. Lift your head, neck and shoulders as one unit. Try to pretend you have an apple or an orange between your chin and chest. Try not to bring your chin in, that could strain your neck. When lifting up, you don't have to lift your body any farther than a 30 degree angle off the mat. This is about the point that your head, neck and shoulders lift off the floor. Any more than that, that could strain your back and also you're only working the hip flexors, not your abdominals. As you curl up, try to visualize closing the gap between the pelvic bone and right here at the last rib, bringing it close together, tilting the pelvis up and bringing the torso up, closing the gap. This will really work the rectus abdominis. In doing the reverse curl, make sure you initiate this movement from the lower end of the rectus abdominis. The movement is very small but effective. Don't rock your legs and also keep your heels close to the buttocks. Let the muscle do the work, not momentum. Now here's what to expect in this video. We're going to start with a great warm up, then go into our entire abdominal workout. After that, I have some easy exercises and stretches specifically designed to keep your back healthy. Then we'll end up with an invigorating segment to start or end up your day on a high note. Many people who watch my TV show ask me how often should they work on their tummy and when can they see results. This workout can be done every single day but to really see results, you should do it at least three times a week. Even if you only have five minutes a day, put this video in and do as much as you can. A few minutes is better than nothing at all. Now to really lose inches in your waistline and get rid of your pot belly or that spare tire or middle-aged spread, be sure you couple this workout with a low fat diet and do aerobics at least three times a week. If you do all this, you'll see great results in only six weeks. Okay, are you ready to go? Let's begin. Stand up nice and tall. Think about good posture, abdominal muscles tight and let's have a great workout. Here we go. Pull it in and pull it out. And first warming up our shoulders and our chest. Open and close. Good. That's it. Real big. Warming up the upper back and the abdominals. Beautiful. Take it down and pull it out. Good. Take it all the way down. Feel it. Beautiful. Stretch it out. Buttocks are tight. Squeeze the buttocks and the abs. That's it. Last one. Pull up. Great. Flap back. Take it down. Roll one vertebra at a time. Flap back. One vertebra at a time. You got it. Good. Abdominal muscles tight. Come on. Keep them tight. We're warming up the back and the tummy. Beautiful. And push it off. Really use your legs now. Using those legs, warm up the body a lot quicker. Burning some calories. Let's get those arms going. Shoulders back. No more shoulder tension. We'll get rid of that. Good. Take it back. Big arm. Big arm. Beautiful. That's it. Open up that chest. Good posture. Take it back. Way back. Beautiful. Tighten up that tummy. Hold the stretch. Here we go. Hold. Good. Lunging side to side. Using those thighs. Place your hand on this arm and stretch. Good. Hand on your thigh for extra support of the spine. Stretching out those obliques. Good. Pull. Take it all the way down. Reach your hand down. Pull it up. Stretch it out. Good. Take a deep breath. Inhale. Good. And inhale and exhale. Now hold the stretch. Here we go. Lunge. Lunge. Good. The back is straight. The abdominal muscles are firm. And they're tight. Hand on thigh. Stretch. Warming up those obliques. We'll be using them in our workout. That's right. The sides of our waistline. Up for back. Straight. Good. All the way down. You're looking good. Good. Good. Good. Straight. Good. All the way down. You're looking great. Take a nice deep breath. Inhale. And exhale. Let's stretch out the neck. Hold the stretch for the neck. Take it forward. To the other side. Elongate this arm. Giving it an extra stretch. Chin to chest. And let me see that smiling face lift up. And stretch to the side. Hold the stretch. Elongating it. Beautiful. Bring your arm around. Stretch out the upper back. All the way down. Good. And exhale. Good. And exhale. And exhale. And exhale. Again, keep your body on the side. Elongate the upper back. Oh, doesn't that feel great? I love this stretch. Turn to the side. Squeeze the buttocks now. This is also working the lower end of the abdominals. That lower tummy, below the belly button. Come on. Use it. We'll have a nice rear view, too. Hold the hip flexor stretch. Shift your weight. Handstring stretch. Hold. Hold. Good. Think about this knee. Don't lock it out. Your hips are back. Good stretch for the back of your thighs. And take it up forward. That's it, nice deep breath, inhale. Gorgeous, and exhale and out. Drop down here so you get that extra stretch. Take it forward, lean into it, giving yourself a better stretch. Beautiful, let's do the hips. Squeeze, release, squeeze, release. You got it, it's all tight right here. Squeeze it. It's really important to stretch out the hip flexors. That's it, now hold it. Hold it, beautiful stretch. Shift your weight back and let's have that hamstring stretch. It's good to keep the hamstrings flexible, to keep your back healthy. And let's take it forward, round the back now. Tuck, release, tuck, release. Come on, feel it. It's on the tummy, think about it. Tight, release, tight, release. You've got last one. Beautiful, roll up one vertebrae at a time and stretch out the upper back. Oh, it feels good, stretch out the chest for good posture. Hands way back there. Take a deep breath. And now we're ready for our abdominal workout. Let's all come and sit down in a nice, good sitting position with great posture. Think about your back. Is it nice and straight, abdominal muscles tight? That's it, and let's begin. Inhale and exhale, beautiful. Inhale and exhale. Now think about that balloon I was talking about. Expand and deflate, that's it. Inhale and exhale, good. Now real big, use your tummy, come on. Exhale, that's it. Inhale, really use your abdominal muscles. Contract right here, that's it. Using that rectus abdominis muscle right there, getting that rock hard tummy. Tight, that's it. Nip up, take it all the way back, take it back. Take your time, make sure you hold onto your thighs for support of your spine. Take your time, one vertebrae at a time, that's it, great. Relax all the way back. Bend both knees, be flat on the floor. Now right now I want you to press the small of the back against the floor, press it, press it, press it. That's it, no air space through here. You can't even put a sheet of paper underneath. And release, ready again. Press, press, press, press, tighter, tighter. Feel it, is it getting hard down there in the lower tummy too? Beautiful, let's begin our pelvic tilt. Up, two, and down, two. And up, two, and down, two. It's all in the lower abs, contract here and it's squeezing the butt up, that's it. Squeeze, good, that's it. Let's begin the upper torso, up, up, and down. Okay, remember to relax your neck. It's all initiated through the abdominals. The rectus abdominis, that's it. Reach up your fingers to your knees, you could do it. Okay, this is another option for your arms. A lot of people wonder where they should put their arms. Well, this is a good place too. Progression would be here. Little more advance, the further they are away from you, the harder it is. This is a challenge workout, this one. Let's put it all together, ready? Squeeze, together, closing that gap. Good, squeeze, remember pelvis to the rib cage. That's it, exhale. Deflate that balloon, come on. Make it hollow, scoop it under. Make it skinny, beautiful. Up, good, that's it. Remember your hands could go anywhere now. This could be fine and more comfortable for you or right here, this is okay too. Right up here, good. And now let's do singles, here we go. Ready and squeeze, release, squeeze. Everything comes together, closing that gap. Squeeze, notice my pelvis is tilted up. Beautiful, tilt it, good. Up, higher, higher, really work it. Now up, down, two. We're working eccentrically now. Negative work for the abdominal muscles. Watch, one up and three, take it slowly back. That's a little tougher, huh? Control, controls the key in this. Good, now take it up, hold, hold, hold, hold. Right now, this is an isometric hold. Press the small, the back against the floor. Press it, make it skinny, make it tight. Everything's in control. Tighten elbows close to your body. Tighter, tighter, tighter, beautiful. Leg comes up, elongate the leg, ready and up, down, up, down. Feel as though right now that your chest is lifting towards your thigh muscle. That's right, your elbow should be back. Beautiful, remember the chin to the chest. Last one, beautiful, switch legs. You're doing great. Up and down, up, down, good. Come on, higher, reach up, down. Two more, give it all you got. All right, stretch it out, elongate the body. Stretch the body taller, taller. Come on, make yourself an inch taller. Fingertips all the way down to your toes, stretch it out. Beautiful, all of them now feel good to stretch. Bring one knee up to the chest, the other knee up. Slowly bring them towards the chest. This is a wonderful lower back stretch. Very important for the lower back. Hold the stretch, cross the ankles. Ready for our lower tummy workout. In, two, and down, two. This is really working the rectus abdominis, the lower end of it, the lower portion, everything below the belly button, where we all need it, right? Even after having that baby, you need it. Even I do, up, two, and down. Your arms can be anywhere here now. Don't rely on them here though. Don't press and use it to get up. Advanced people can put their hands right here. This is a good place so you really initiate the movement from the lower half. Singles, lift, lower, lift, lower. That's it, you can do this now. We all wanna get a rock hard tummy. This is working on the lower half, below the belt. Yes, come on, flatten it out. Good, lift, lower, lift, lower. Come on, really feel it. Now don't arch your small of the back and let your toes drop here. This is wrong. Keep everything close to the chest. That's it, close to the chest. Okay, relax the lower half now, the upper, two, and down. Notice the difference. The lower half is on vacation now. You're taking a break, letting the upper abdominals do some of the work here. That's it. Do you notice the difference? Very important. Now let's put that together. Ready and up, two, and down, two, and breathe. Remember to breathe, that's it. Come on, strong abdominals make a healthy back. Yes, that's it, breathe out, exhale. Let's do some fast ones of those crunches. Up, down, up, really use it. Come on, bring the knees to your chest. It's all control. Initiate the movement from the lower half. That's it, bring it together, closing that gap. That's it. Last one. Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it. Isometric hold. Okay, let's stretch it out. Oh, stretch it out. Beautiful, bend both knees, come up to your elbows, plant your lower back down, control in the abdominals. Ready and up, up, down, and down. Good, lift, lift, down. Always make sure the small of the back is against the floor on this one. Very important, you got it. You're doing great. Now if you're advanced, try this one. A little progression, take it down slow. Again, don't arch your back though. Small of the back presses against the floor. Watch not what to do, don't do this. Don't arch your back like that. Okay, good. Stay right here, it's all control. Now if you're really advanced, try this one. Press, press, that's it, come on, bicycle. Make sure the small of the back is against that floor now. Good, you can do it. The lower the legs, the lower the abdominal workout you get. That's it, good. Last one, great, and bring it in. Take it in, good. Shake it all the way up, legs up. Cross at the ankles. This is a little advanced, but you could give it a try. Lift, lower, lift, lower. Up and down, up and down. All for the lower end of the rectus abdominis. That's it, lift, higher, come on. Now don't cheat, and use your hands. Put your hands back here if you're really advanced. Okay, really use the lower part. You're doing great, I'm proud of you. That's it, last one, hold it. Can you hold it up there? Chin is up, relax your neck. That's it, using the muscle and not momentum to get you up. Everything's under control, take it down. Beautiful, stretching out the lower spine. Hold that stretch, and now we're ready to work the waistline, yes. Slowly lift your body up, let me see that smiling face. Lift up, elongate the abdominals. Come on, get the buttocks up, that's it. Slowly bring it down. We're gonna now work on the waistline. You wanna get a nice, trim waistline. We'll do these exercises with me. Lie on your side, this is working on the obliques. Here we go, reach up, good. Take it down, that's it. Come on, higher, reach. Fingertips past the buttocks, that's it. You're doing great, reach up, higher. Remember to relax this arm, you're not using it now. Don't cheat on me, good. That's it, come on, up, good. Now try this one, ready? And up, two, and down. I want you to feel it right here. This is all tight and tense right now. That's it, that's the muscle we're working, yes. The obliques. Okay, ready singles, lift and lower. Exhale, that's it. Keep your abdominals in, really taut, that's it. This is all for your tummy, so you get a nice rock hard tummy, super stomach. That's it, we got one more. I'm proud of you, hold it, hold it. Okay, lie on your back. Let's work on the waistline. Cross one leg over, elongate this arm, just take your time. Place your hand behind you, ready? Take a nice deep breath in, and exhale. And as you exhale, come up. Good, and take it down, good. And up, twist, that's it. Okay, a few things to know here. Try not to see the elbow. That's right, peripherally. Don't bring your elbow in, that's wrong. Keep it way back there. Let the shoulder lead, that's it. Shoulder towards the knee, that's the idea. Good, now lift and hold, little lifts, little lifts. Come on, crunches. This is working the waistline, it's worth it. I promise you, it's worth it. Come on, a couple more. I'm proud of you, keep it up. That's one, and relax, take it down. Good, lift the body, roll up. We're gonna switch sides now, here we go. Lie on the other side, here we go. Lie all the way down, ready for your workout. Remember, don't cheat, use the shoulder, elbow to get you up. Okay, knees are stacked right over each other, store the hips, let's begin. And up, two, and down, two, and up, two. I want your face facing towards me now, face right towards me, that's it. Don't turn your neck, this way. Up, two, and down. Now a different variation, elbows back, two, and down. Really feel it right here, come on. It's for the waistline. We're gonna get a nice, small waistline if we work on it. That's right, up, two, remember that, exhale. Ready, and singles, exhale, inhale. Press, control, really use the sides of the waistline. These are our oblique muscles, come on. It's worth it, let's go. Little more, we got a couple more. Now hold it right up here, hold it, little pulses. Hold it, hold it, hold it. Stomach is in, okay, lie on your back. Cross one leg over the thigh, that's it. Plant your hips flat down on the floor. Elongate this arm, get yourself ready for good position. Small the back, ready, and lift, two, and down. Good, and exhale. That's it, and hollow out. Make your abdominal muscles press against the floor. That's it, you're doing great, twist, good. Again, I don't wanna see that elbow, that's it. Don't look at your elbow. You don't even wanna see it to the sides of your eye. That's it, good, and up, turn, and down. Now let's go singles, lift and lower, lift and lower. Don't rock, both hips should be planted flat on the floor. It's all in control, that's it. Really think about good control, lift and lower. We got one more, up, and relax. Okay, now bring your knees into your chest, relax the lower back muscles. Slowly rock your body up, roll all the way up, and stretch out the rectus abdominis. That's it, now for the obliques. Stretch to one side, and now to the other side. We just used the sides of the waistline, and now we're gonna stretch them out, elongate them. Yes, stretch to the other side, beautiful. Okay, bend your knees, slowly take it back. Using your tummy, come on, it's all here. The control is in the rectus abdominis, the big muscle. Yes, let's begin with your legs up. Out, together, down, up, good. Out, together, down, and up. The small of the back is pressing against the floor, that's right, good. Last one, you keep the legs going like this, now we add the arms. Reach, good, reach, that's it. Lift, together, down, together, reach. Only do what you can now. If this is too much for you, take a break, and start up again with me. As soon as you feel ready, ready, and reach, good. Together, try this variation with your arms behind you like this, that's it. Remember to exhale, exhale, good. Exhale, you got it, really feel it. Get all you got, come on, I really want you to try harder. Lift, good, and this, go back to the arms, if this makes it easier. Wherever you feel most comfortable, that's it. Press the small of the back against the floor, press it. The whole key is here for the rectus abdominis, that's it. Good, now reach it up, that's it. Leave your all legs up there, and climb to the top. Come on, this is our rope climb, taller. Reach it, come on, up. Now if you feel your legs can't stay up there too long, place your hands here, and rotate yourself, that's it. Use your hands for extra support, good, that's it. Couple more, come on, I want you to go taller to the top, to the top, come on, it's worth it. Okay, relax one knee, slowly bring it down, ready? And twist, release, for the obliques. Now notice that my leg is going across the center of the body, that's okay on this one. This is a little advanced oblique workout, that's it. You're doing great, last one, and we hold it. Now try this, try this, reaching, reach, hold it, hold it, hold it, that's it, just hold it, beautiful. Hold it, you got it, control, isometric hold, beautiful. Okay, switch legs, the other leg comes up, ready and twist, good, twist. Remember to plant both hips flat on the floor, very important, twist, good, that's it. Couple more, press the small of the back against the floor. Last one, and hold, isometric hold, come on, give it all you've got right here. Little presses if you can, this is tough, but you can do it, come on, we're down to our home stretch, give it all you've got, this is my challenge workout right here, okay, take a break. Ready, take it up, up, hold, this is isometric hold, now hollow out, don't come up too high that it creates a bulge, you don't want that. You want it to really be hollowed out, no pooching, come on. If you see a pooch, that means you came up a little too high, good, and release. Let's try that again, lift up, up, up, okay, release the hands, release the hands. If you're very advanced and you wanna challenge yourself, place your hands here, press against it, come on, press against it, challenge yourself, come on, resistance, resistance for that tummy, it's worth it, strong abdominal muscles, keep your back healthy, also gives you a flat tummy, hold it, hold it, all release. One last try, up, up, up, up, up, give it all you've got, a little lift and take it down. Okay, stretch out the abs, stretch it out, elongate both legs now, oh, the hard part's over, that was our challenge workout for the tummy. Beautiful, bring one knee to the chest, give it a little stretch if you like, grab underneath here, oh, relaxing the back, now we're beginning our healthy back exercises and stretches, for that lower back especially. Beautiful, bring your both knees up to your chest, that's it, roll up, I want you to roll over towards your tummy and do a back stretch, this is called a cat stretch, up, up, up, tense up those tummy muscles and release. This is an excellent exercise for the tummy, if you're pregnant or you have back problems, this is an excellent exercise, contract up and release. Now do one more, tighten up the tummy right here, everything's tight and release and take it down to your elbows, I want you up on your toes and this is for the tummy and the back, can you hold it there, tight, tight, tight, if you're a beginner, go down to your knees, that's okay, but lift up your abdominals, don't let them stay, tighten them up, tighten them up, okay, take a break, come on down onto your tummy and slowly bring your chin down and now we're gonna start our back extensors, work out, lift one arm and one leg of the same side and hold, hold, relax your neck, that's it, hold and release, to the other side, up, up, can you feel this, this is great for your back extensors, that's it, your back, your lower back, strengthening the muscles, lift it up one more time, the opposite side, come on, hold it up, same arm, same leg, try it on the other side again, lift up, up, up, up, squeezing the buttocks, make sure while you're doing this, the small of the back is pressing in with the hips into the floor, that's it, squeezing the buttocks, okay, now we're gonna try opposites, bring up one arm and the opposite arm and the opposite leg, left arm, right leg and reverse, try that, this is a little tougher now, this is a progression, hold it tight, tight, good, once again, lift up, relax your neck muscles now, I want you looking down at the mat, it's better for your neck, everything's elongated, everything's stretching, hold it, good, take a back break, oh, feeling good about your back now, keeping that back healthy, make sure you get your buttocks all the way to your heels, okay, take it down now, get on your tummy, and now ready and we're gonna lift both, chin, chest, arms, legs, everything lifts up, contract the abdominals, contract the buttocks and release, let's try it again, come on, it's for the back, make your back healthy and keep it that way, hold it up, hold it up, beautiful, I want you to do one more, come on, you can do it, give it all you got, lift it up, your fingertips are right here, and your toes are almost pigeon-toed in, that's okay, and take a break, can you try just your legs, that's a little tougher, place your chin right down on your hands and release, try just your legs again, let me see if you can do that, lift up your feet, come on, come on, come on, this is great strengthening for the lower back muscles, and take it up, press your body all the way up, and I want you to try this exercise, this is a balancing exercise, one arm, one leg, balance, this is the opposite, can you do that, give it a try, if you can't, just practice, it does take time, let's try the other side now, one side might seem a little easier than the other, that's okay, tighten up the tummy, don't let it slide down, everything's lifted, lift it up, you did it, take a nice deep breath, inhale, and stretch out the abs, and exhale, good, okay, everybody stand up, let's begin, and twist the body, twist it, good, this is our invigorating segment to really let loose, and have a good time, just do the best you can, it's for the waistline now, just loosen it up, yes, good, twist the body, that's it, make sure that your hips turn with your body, very important to protect those knees, keep those knees bent too, okay, let me see some hip action here, come on, hip, come on, all the way around, loosen that lower back up, right now, your abdominal muscles should be very tight, it's all in the hip action, that's right, all in the hips, this is a good exercise for the lower tummy, come on, circle, good, now get into it, come on, little belly dancing, yeah, good, and reverse the circle, go the opposite direction, you can do it, come on, give it all you got, good, hip action, side to side now, side, doubles, doubles, good, side, side, just loosen up and have a good time now, for that waistline, we'll get rid of those extra inches, come on, right here, woo, together, you can do the best you can now, give everything you got, right here, now we're gonna do a little doubles, ready, doubles, single, good, single, single, double, single, single, double, you got it, single, single, double, that's one, woo, okay, isolation is now, now watch this exercise, everything is still in the lower half, and the upper torso is doing your work, that's it, this is the action here, notice everything down here is very quiet, ton of vacation, the sides of the waistline, that's it, we're doing some workout for the sides, good, two more, you got it, now reach it out, build the reaches, working the sides, that's it, this is a great stretch, good, into the other side, reach it out, reach it out, that's it, good, and now just shake it out, shake it, that's it, keep it moving, woo, keep it going, now twist the whole body, twist it out, twist it out, you're looking good, twist, come on, give it all you got, woo, you did great, give yourself a big hand. ["Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"] ["Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"] ["Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"] ["Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"] ["Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"]