Muscle & Fitness Hers South Africa – July-August 2019

BELENKY ALEXANDER

Y

ou’re the star of

the show — when

you train like the

ripped, gravity-

defying

performers of

Cirque du Soleil!

We’re not talking

pantomiming, though.

With artists/athletes

performing hundreds

of shows a week across

the world, these trapeze

artists, unicyclists,

contortionists, high fl iers,

and more are athletes to

their core — that’s why

we’re in awe of their daily

abs routine.

We tracked down

Bryan D. Burnstein,

head of Cirque du

Soleil performance

science, while he was

onsite in Las Vegas to

design a core routine th

works every square inch

of your abs and back. Th

result is a fully functiona

tight core that won’t let

you down. Give it a shot

and watch your strength

improve in short order,

then get a front-row sea

to one of the jaw-

dropping Cirque du Sole

(cirquedusoleil

.com) performances

wherever your travels

take you. Though you

may not be the next

high-wire act, you can

crush your core just like

theprosdo.

CRUNCH (SHORT)30 SEC

BENT-KNEE V-SIT

WITH HEEL CUP

30 SEC

STAYIN’ALIVE 30 SEC

STARPLANKROLLOVER

(SLOWPACE)

30 SEC

TABLETOPHEELTOSKY30SEC

STRETCHCLOCK30SEC

SLAMANDTWIST30SEC

DEADBUG 30 SEC

SUPERMAN(OPPOSITELEG

ANDARM)

30 SEC

PERSIDE

ELBOWTAP 30 SEC

INCHWORM 30 SEC

OBLIQUECRUNCH30SEC

PERSIDE

CRUNCH(LONG)30SEC

CRUNCH(SHORT)NOTSHOWN

• Lieonyourbackwithknees
  bent 90 degrees,fingers
  behindhead,andabstight.


• Liftjusttopofshouldersoff
  floor,thenreturntostart.
  Holdadumbbellbehind
  headtoincreasedifficulty.

BENT-KNEE V-SIT

WITH HEEL CUP

• Sit on floor with knees
  bent 90 degrees, torso
  leaned back 45 degrees,
  and hands cupped. Lift
  feet off floor until shins
  are parallel to floor. This is
  the start.


• Touch right heel with right
  hand, twisting torso and
  bringing left arm behind
  you.


• Return to start position.
  Repeat on opposite side
  for time.

HOW TO DO IT:

Do all exercises in a row;

rest between each when

needed. Once you can

complete every exercise for

30 seconds consecutively

(an eight-minute routine),

add five seconds per exercise.

Suggested frequency is once

daily, three to five times per

week; max of twice daily,

seven days per week.

74 | M&F HERS | JUL/AUG 2019