3 Months to a Tighter Tummy

Your "core" is made up of the muscles in your abdomen, back and sides. When these muscles are all strong and toned, you stand straighter, your tummy gets flatter and your waist looks smaller. A well-toned torso makes your whole body look and feel slimmer, fitter and healthier.

Following these tips from Life Fitness will improve your core strength and have a positive impact on every move you make. Three core sessions per week, paired with a solid cardio program and calorie controlled diet, will get you on your way to tight abs just in time for summer.

Keep up the cardio. Incorporate a 30 to 45-minute cardio workout at least five days a week if you are serious about peeling off some of the flab. Try a session on an elliptical cross-trainer or treadmill, or jump on your spin bike or rowing machine.

Manage your diet. Remember the concept of calories-in versus calories-out to burn off extra body fat. You must burn more calories than you consume to see significant results. No one will see your hot new abs if there is body fat shielding them.

Try standard crunches. Standard crunches have replaced the traditional sit-up. To do a crunch correctly, keep your lower back on the ground with hands behind your head, fingers unclasped. Bend your legs at the knee with your heels slightly raised from the ground and use only your ab muscles to lift your upper body toward your knees. Hold for two seconds, then repeat. Try three sets of 25 during each core workout.

Test out bicycle crunches. This exercise requires both upper and lower ab muscles because your legs will move in a bicycle motion as your body is raised in a crunch. Lie flat on your back with hands behind your head. Lift your legs off the mat and move them through the motions of riding a bicycle, meeting your right knee with the left elbow and vice versa. Try three sets of 20 during each core workout.

Stabilize your crunches. Balancing on a ball makes your abs work harder than standard crunches. Sit on the balance ball, roll slightly forward to find a comfortable lying position for your lower back and keep your feet wide for a balanced base. Cross your arms over your chest and contract your abs to lift your torso off the ball - hold for two seconds and lower yourself back down on the ball. Try three sets of 20 during each core workout.

Fit Tips are provided by Exercise Houston, the leader in high-quality exercise equipment for homes in the Greater Houston Area. For more information on Fit Tips and other fitness advice and expertise visit www.exercisehouston.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/exercisehouston