My ab secret

Shh... I'll tell you a little secret. I almost never workout my abs. At least not in the traditional way of crunches and sit ups. Yet, I maintain a pretty flat stomach, and I can tell you how to do it.

Of course combined with eating a healthy diet, I use my treadmill and eliptical cardio sessions to tone my tummy - very efficient for those of us time strapped individuals. It takes some practice to get the full effect, but I promise if you follow these steps you'll never have to do another ab crunch again!

The trick is to contract your abs while walking, running, or on the eliptical. At slower paces, you can incorporate a true ab twist to get your obliques in action. While running, the natural swing of your arms should kick the obliques into gear naturally.

Here's how to do it:

1) Stand tall (very straight) with your shoulders back (roll them back once to feel the drop)
2) While keeping your upper body lifted tall, contract (or curve) your ab muscles into a "C" shape (think pilates!)
3) Keep this tension in your abs while doing your full cardio session (20-30 minutes),
4) When you feel comfortable, add your arms by bending at the elbow, pulling the elbows back in an exagerated swing.

You may have to remind yourself to "suck in your abs" every few minutes or so. One great way of this is on every minute marker, take a huge deep breath, let your abs relax, and then start again with the tension/compression.

Good luck, 6 pack!