Good morning. Day 5.
Today is movement, and I want to start with what to stop doing.
Crunches and sit-ups recruit your psoas, the hip flexors that run from your lower spine to your thigh. Do enough of them and you tighten the muscles that tilt your pelvis forward. That tilt pushes your lower belly out and strains your lower back.
You feel like you worked. The shape gets worse.
There is a second problem. Long, hard cardio raises cortisol. If yours is already elevated, an hour on the treadmill adds to the load and your middle holds tighter. That is not a reason to stop moving. It is a reason to add the right movement.
The dead bug. It trains the transverse abdominis, the deep layer that wraps your middle like a built-in corset. It does not spike cortisol.
How to do it:
On your back. Arms straight up at the ceiling. Knees bent to 90 degrees, shins parallel to the floor. Lower your right arm behind your head while you lower your left leg. Stop an inch above the floor. Return. Switch sides.
Ten per side. Two sets.
The whole trick is this: your lower back stays flat against the floor the entire time. If it arches, make the movement smaller.
Here is NASM demonstrating the form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxn9FBrt4-A
If the full version is too much right now, start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psOZS-sVDww
Today's action:
One set. Just one, to feel it.
See you tomorrow.
Yours in health,
Dr. Shallanda Hunter, PharmD, MBA, CFNMP
Hunter's Holistic Health
huntersholistichealth.com
For educational purposes only. Not medical advice. Consult your licensed healthcare provider before beginning any exercise program.