Top 10 Proven Ab Killers of All Time
7. The Cobra
Its purpose in yoga is to massage the digestive organs and improve concentration.
This is a simple exercise that has many benefits, and you will feel it in your abs from the first repetition.
Lie on your stomach with your elbows bent and tucked into the sides of your body, your palms down and the tips of your fingers lined up with your shoulders.
Keeping your feet firmly together to provide support for your lower back, use your upper back and ab muscles to roll your head, neck and upper back slowly upwards and back so that your chest opens up.
Your hands will be supporting some of your weight, but they shouldn’t be holding you up – that’s the job your abs and back are doing. As always, don’t forget to breathe slowly as you perform this exercise.
A more difficult, but ultimately more effective, variation of the Cobra is to lift your hands off of the mat, sweeping them to your sides so that your thumbs are pointing toward the ceiling. At the same time, lift your legs so that only your hips are touching the floor. Try to hold this position for 15 seconds, and work your way up to two minutes.
