Double Leg Stretch

Here's an ab exercise that will get your blood pumping and your belly burning!

Double Leg Stretch
1. Lie on your back and pull both knees into your chest, elbows extended and head lifted. Hands are on your shins.

2. Inhale deeply and stretch your body long, reaching your arms back by your ears and with your legs out long in front of you and raised off the mat at about a forty-five degree angle. Imagine you are stretching out of bed in the morning. Note: make sure your lower back stays completely pressed to the mat.

3. Do not allow your head to move off your chest - keep a deep upper abdominal curl.

4. As you exhale, draw your knees back into your chest by circling your arms around to meet them.

5. Sink your belly further from your knees to increase the emphasis on the exhalation, as if you were compressing air out of your lungs.

6. Repeat the sequence 7-10 times, remaining still in your torso as your inhale to stretch and exhale to pull.

7. End by pulling your knees into your chest for a deep exhalation.

~ Try it out and tell us what you think, dear readers. Did you feel the burn??


Photo: About.com