Pull your own weight: for killer abs, try this deceptively simple, awesomely effective move designed by top trainer Jan Griscom

wHEN HER CLIENTS ASK HER HOW TO GET SLEEK, FLAT ABS, Jan Griscom tells them to do pushaways--pushaways from the table, that is. "Diet is a key ingredient for getting that lean ab look," says the certified personal trainer (pictured at right).

Of course, another key ingredient is exercise, and around the Chelsea Piers Sports Center in New York City where she works, Griscom is famous for her killer ab routines. She includes two to four sets of signature moves like "The Slither," an exercise that involves nothing more than a towel, your own body weight and lots of physical grit. It works all of your core muscles at once with special emphasis on your obliques. As a bonus, you hit your arms, shoulders and upper back, as well. Check it out.

THE SLITHER

SET UP: Place a hand towel flat on the floor. With your toes on the center of the towel, get into a push-up position: Lie facedown with your legs straight out behind you. Bend your elbows and place your palms on the floor a bit to the side and front of your shoulders. Straighten your arms and lift your body so that you're balanced on your palms and the underside of your toes. Then, lift your slightly bent left leg up off the floor so that your knee is almost level with your hip.

EXERCISE: Keeping your arms straight but your elbows soft, reach the fingertips of your left hand a few inches in front of you, then place your left palm on the floor to move your body forward and drag the towel along the floor with your foot. Pause a moment, then repeat the movement with your right hand. Continue alternating hands in this step fashion for a total of eight reps per set. Go onto your knees to rest a moment, then do another set with your right leg lifted.

TIPS:

* Be sure to keep your spine aligned and your abs tight.

* Keep your hips in line with the rest of your body and don't allow your lower back to sag toward the floor.

* Focus on transferring your weight from one side to the other and on feeling a slight rotation at the waist with each move forward.

* Exhale through your mouth as you move your hands forward and drag the towel. Inhale through your nose as you pause between reps.

VARIATIONS:

* To make the move easier, place both feet on the towel, It's OK to take a break between reps if you need to.

* For more of a challenge, take slightly larger "strides" with your hands.

* Another way to make this move harder is to replace the towel with a paper plate. Because the plate is more difficult to drag across the floor with control, your core muscles must work even harder.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group