The Payoff
Perfect Posture
Hours of sitting in an office produce muscle imbalances that make it hard to move as the body is intended to—and most workouts only exacerbate the problem. This plan realigns joints and rebuilds the essential areas for proper movement: your hips, torso, and shoulders.
Razor-Sharp Abs
A lean midsection is the hallmark of a truly fit body. To get it, you need a healthy diet and exercises that build strength and stability. By challenging your abdominals with every exercise, this workout shapes your center of attraction, and all the muscles surrounding it.
A High-Performance Body
One of the exercises in this program, the Swiss-ball cable Russian twist, strengthens your core while increasing spinal flexibility. This improves your ability to generate power in major exercises and gives you an edge in any sport.
Benchmark of Success
How Strong Is Your Core?
The plank measures the strength, stamina, and stability of your torso—the center of all your body's movement. Anyone can do it, no matter what shape you're in at the moment.
Lie facedown in a modified pushup position, with your forearms and toes resting on the floor. Your elbows should be under your shoulders and bent 90 degrees, and your body should form a straight line from your ears to your heels. Keeping your body straight, contract your abdominals forcefully. See how long you can hold this position. Rest for 60 seconds, then repeat the move.
Track Your Progress
Add up your times for both reps of the plank and record the total in the chart below. Then follow this workout and retest yourself every week.
START [TOTAL TIME]
WEEK 1 [TOTAL TIME]
WEEK 2 [TOTAL TIME]
WEEK 3 [TOTAL TIME]
WEEK 4 [TOTAL TIME]
Medicine-Ball Hand Walk
Works the chest, shoulders, and abs
Assume the classic pushup position with a medicine ball by your right hand. Place your right hand on the ball, then lift your left hand off the floor—balancing briefly on the ball with just your right hand—and place it on the ball. Next, place your right hand on the floor to the right of the ball, then place your left hand on the floor next to your right hand. (The ball should now be by the outside of your left hand.) Repeat in the opposite direction. That's one repetition.
The plan: Start with eight repetitions in week 1. Do 10 reps in week 2, and 12 in weeks 3 and 4.
Front Pillar Bridge with Diagonal Arm Lift
Works the shoulders and trunk
Assume a modified pushup position, with your forearms resting on the floor. Your elbows should be under your shoulders and bent 90 degrees. Keeping your torso steady, raise your right arm forward and to the right, so that it points to 2 o'clock. Hold for 1 to 2 seconds, then lower your arm and repeat with your left arm, raising it to 10 o'clock.
The plan: In week 1, do eight repetitions. Do 10 in week 2, and 12 in weeks 3 and 4.
Side Pillar Bridge
Works the shoulders and trunk
Lie on your left side with your forearm on the floor under your shoulder, and your feet stacked together. Push your hip off the floor, creating a straight line from ankle to shoulder and keeping your head in line with your spine. Pause for 1 to 2 seconds, then lower yourself and repeat. After you've completed your repetitions, lie on your right side and repeat.
The plan: Complete eight repetitions per side in week 1. Do 10 reps in week 2, and 12 reps in weeks 3 and 4.
Swiss-Ball Hanging Knee Raise
Works the abdominals and groin
Place a Swiss ball in front of a bench and sit on the ball with your back toward the bench and a foam roll (or rolled-up towel) between your knees. Lie with your back on the ball and reach behind you to grab the bench with both hands for stability. Keeping your back arched over the ball, slowly raise your hips and pull your knees up to your chest. Pause, slowly lower your legs without allowing them to touch the ball, and repeat.
The plan: In week 1, do eight repetitions. Do 10 reps in week 2, and 12 in weeks 3 and 4.
Swiss-Ball Single-Leg Bridge
Lie on your back with your arms at your sides and your left heel on a Swiss ball, ankle flexed so your toes point toward your shin. Draw your right knee toward your chest. Keeping the knee tucked, slowly raise your hips by contracting your glutes so that just your head, shoulders, and arms are touching the floor. (Your body should form a straight line from your head to your left heel.) Lower your hips to the floor and repeat for the specified number of reps. Then switch positions so your right heel is on the ball and repeat.
The plan: Do eight repetitions per leg in week 1, 10 in week 2, and 12 in weeks 3 and 4.
Off-Bench Lateral Flexion
Works the lateral part of the trunk
Lie on your left side on a bench with your legs bent. Move to one end so your torso hangs off the edge. For support, hook your feet under the bench or have a training partner sit on your ankles and feet. With your hands clasped behind your head, slowly bend at the waist and lower your torso as far as you can without touching the floor. Raise your torso and repeat. Complete your repetitions, then switch positions to work the opposite side.
The plan: Do eight repetitions per side in week 1, 10 in week 2, and 12 in weeks 3 and 4.
Swiss-Ball Cable Russian Twist
Stretches the hips; works the core
Attach a handle to a high-pulley cable and place a Swiss ball in front of the weight stack. Lie faceup on the ball so the top of your head is toward the weight stack. Reach overhead and grab the handle with both hands. Keeping your arms straight, turn your shoulders to the left until your arms are parallel to the floor. Rotate back to the starting position and complete the prescribed number of repetitions, then repeat the move to the right.
The plan: Do eight reps per side in week 1, 10 in week 2, and 12 in weeks 3 and 4.
Miniband Knee Rotation
Works the glutes
Loop resistance tubing around your ankles and pull it up your legs until the loop is just above your knees. Place your feet more than shoulder-width apart and squat slightly so that you feel the band's tension pressing against the outsides of your lower thighs. Keeping your left leg stationary and both feet flat on the floor, rotate your right knee inward, then out for the prescribed number of reps. Then repeat with your left leg.
The plan: Do eight repetitions per side in week 1, 10 in week 2, and 12 in weeks 3 and 4.
