Flatten Your Tummy
While Dr. Whitaker’s information on DHEA supplementation is wonderful news, there is no way to flatten your tummy without exercising. I’m going to give you a few exercises that I’ve done for years that have kept my tummy flat. No I don’t do sit-ups! Sit’ups can push your head out of alignment and cause tension in your shoulders. They could possibly damage your spine and since I have scoliosis (curvature of the spine, caused when I had polio at age 5), I try to avoid exercises that would be problematic.
Now what’s so great about my exercises, you can do them in bed. That’s right, in bed. Not on the floor or on a mat, but in bed. The best position is across the foot of the bed. Obviously this won’t work on a twin bed unless you are very short. You may want to begin slowly working up to higher repetitions. Not, let’s flatten your tummy.
Elbow – Knee Touch
- Place hands behind neck
- Bring right elbow forward to touch left knee
- Return to prone position
- Bring left elbow to right knee
- Return to prone position
- Repeat 10 times, Rest, Repeat another 10 times
Knee Crunch
- Place small flat pillow under head
- Bring knees to chest
- Straighten legs vertically and point toes to ceiling
- Bring knees back to chest
- Straighten legs horizontally and point toes to bedroom wall
- Repeat bringing knees (legs together) to chest, then thrust legs up, back to chest, then thrust legs out, 10 times.
- Rest, repeat
Leg Lifts
- Place small flat pillow under head
- Bring arms behind head and hold on to side of mattress
- Lift legs about 10 inches from mattress for starting position
- Lift legs straight up to vertical position then return to starting position (never let legs touch mattress)
- Begin with 10 leg lifts, work up to 20, then 30
Vertical Scissors
- You can start this exercise with or without a small flat pillow
- Hands by sides, bring both legs to vertical position
- Open lets to V position and begin scissor motion, first bringing right leg to cross in front of left leg, then back to open V position, then left leg to cross in front of right leg.
- Repeat 20 times, rest, repeat.
Horizontal Scissors
- Place small, flat pillow under head
- Lift legs about 10 inches from bed
- Open to V position
- Begin scissor motion, by crossing right leg over left, and left leg over right 10 times
- Rest, and then begin another set of 10 repetitions. Three sets of 10 would be your goal or 30 continuous reps
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