Killer Moves That Work Your Abs Better Than Crunches

When it comes to bodyweight abs exercises, crunches aren't always the way to go. In fact, research has shown the classic crunch isn't even that effective since it doesn't activate all of your core muscles.

Bottom line: Whether you want to build strength so you can do a pull-up or just want to show off a six-pack (hey, no judgment!), there are more effective exercises than endless crunches.

From plank variations to weighted exercises, these moves from Tone Househead coach Evan Betts will totally change the way you think about working your midsection. It won't even feel like you're specifically targeting your abs, but you'll still be engaging your core to the max.

How to use this list: Depending on your fitness level, Betts suggests picking 2 or 3 of the moves below. Perform each move for 60 seconds (or for the number of reps indicated), rest for 20 seconds, then perform the next move. At the end of all three moves, rest for up to 60 seconds, then repeat the circuit. Complete 3 or 4 rounds total.

Bodyweight Moves

 High Knees

1. High Knees

Stand with feet hip-width apart, core engaged, and back straight. Hold arms steady or swing to help with momentum. Run in place, drawing each knee as high as possible toward chest, using lower abs to pull knees high. (Think sprint, not jog.) Go as fast as you can for 60 seconds.

 Tuck Jumps

2. Tuck Jump

Stand with feet hip-width apart, core engaged, back straight. Send hips back, bend knees slightly, with hands extended at 90 degrees. In one explosive movement, jump up, drawing knees toward chest so knees tap hands. Land lightly on toes, with a slight bend in knees, and immediately jump up again. Jump for 60 seconds.

 Plank Walk

3. Plank Walk

Start in a high plank position. Lower onto right forearm, then lower onto left forearm so you are now in a forearm plank. Return to starting position by pushing up from left forearm to left hand, then pushing up from right forearm to right hand. Continue for 60 seconds. At the 30-second mark, lead with the other arm.

 Plank Jack

4. Plank Jack

Start in a high plank position. With core braced, jump both feet apart wider than hip width. Now quickly jump feet back together. Try to land softly on toes each time. Focus on keeping hips steady and arms straight. Continue for 60 seconds.

 Plank Arms Walk-Out

5. Plank Arms Walk-Out

Start in a high plank position. Slowly walk hands forward so wrists are no longer under shoulders and body is extended. Walk hands as far forward as possible. Pause at the farthest point for a moment before walking hands back to start position. Continue to repeat for up to 60 seconds.

 High Plank Bird-Dog

6. High-Plank Bird Dog

Start in a high plank position. Brace core and raise right hand and left foot off ground, like a traditional bird dog. Return to starting position and repeat on the other side. Do 10 reps on each side.

 Scorpion

7. Scorpion

Start on all fours. Brace core, come to the tips of your toes, and shift weight to right side. Pick left hand and foot off ground, allowing right hand and foot to shift, so you come into a faceup position. Lift right hand and left foot off ground. With left leg extended, crunch torso together to tap right hand to left toes. Return to all fours. Repeat on the other side, without letting hips hit the ground at any time. Continue for 10 reps on each side.          

 Spiderman Push-Up

8. Spiderman Push-Up

Start in a high plank position. Engage core and bring right knee forward toward right elbow, turning hip out so inner thigh is parallel to floor. As right knee comes forward, bend arms and lower into a push-up. Return to starting position and repeat on the other side. Do 10 reps on each side.

Make it easier: Skip the push-up. Instead, hold a high plank throughout and focus on squeezing obliques to engage core.

 Body Saw

9. Body Saw

You'll need a small towel or set of sliders for this move. Start in a forearm plank with toes on the towel. With core engaged, slide body forward, bringing shoulders as far forward as possible, past elbows.Then slide back, allowing shoulders to shift behind elbows. Continue to move back and forth for 60 seconds.

Make it easier: Do a mountain climber or wide-leg mountain climber instead.

10. Dragon Flag

Find an anchor to hold onto with arms extended overhead—like a chair, bench, or closed door. (We used a floor anchor in the photo above.) Lie faceup with knees bent. Shifting weight into shoulders, engage core and lift feet overhead (think shoulder stand). Try to keep legs as straight as possible. Lower legs, without allowing them to touch floor, then repeat. Do 3 to 5 slow and controlled reps.

Note: Do not perform this exercise if you have preexisting shoulder issues. Once in shoulder stand, look straight ahead, never side-to-side, to protect your neck from injury.

Weighted Moves

 Single-Arm Farmer's Walk

11. Single-Arm Farmer's Walk

This isn't your average walk in the park. Grab a heavy weight such as a dumbbell, kettlebell, or sandbag (as shown). Stand with feet hip-width apart, core engaged, and back straight. Holding weight in right hand, walk forward about 10 feet (or for about 30 seconds). When you turn back, switch the weight to the opposite hand.

Make it harder: Make it more challenging by walking backward (carefully!) or by stopping halfway through the walk and holding for a few seconds before continuing.

 Medicine Ball Halo

12. Medicine Ball Halo

Grab a medicine ball (as shown), dumbbell, or kettlebell. Hold the weight with both hands at chest height. Make a big circle around upper body. Keep knees soft and core engaged and steady throughout. Repeat for 30 seconds in one direction, then reverse direction for another 30 seconds.

 Tuck Jumps

13. Resistance Band Rotation

Look for a resistance band or cable machine for this exercise (start with light resistance to protect spine). Stand with left side toward band anchor. With hands shoulder-width apart, elbows at 90 degrees, and palms down, use core to pull away from the band anchor. Slowly return to start (don't snap back into place). Do 15 to 20 reps, then repeat on the other side.

 Renegade Row

14. Renegade Row

Start in high plank position with a dumbbell close to right hand. Keep body straight and core engaged as you lift the dumbbell with right hand. Perform a row keeping arm close to your side and elbow in line with rib cage as you lift the dumbell up toward rib cage. Lower dumbbell to return to starting position. Go for 30 seconds, then switch sides for another 30 seconds.

Shot on location at Tone House in New York City. Special thanks to Tone House head coach Evan Betts, who designed these moves, modeled for us, and pulled off this killer push-up—just for fun. #pushupgoals

 Abs Exercises: Flying Push-up

7 Exercises Men Should Do Every Day

GUYS, MAKE A PLAN TO STAY FIT.

From yoga to planks, master these fitness techniques and reap the benefits.

Maybe you're no stranger to the gym – but are you using your time there well? That's another story. "There are more people exercising than any other time in history, thanks to a boom in health clubs and workout trends," says Fairfax Hackley, a personal trainer and former bodybuilder. “But we are more obese, more sedentary, with more aches and pains and diseases than any other country." Sticking to just one boring, same-old routine in your dark and gloomy gym won’t do it. Here are seven exercises men should consider adding to their daily routines:

1. SQUATS

Squats are versatile, and you can do them with no equipment. "The most important thing with the squat is proper form," says Jim White, owner of Jim White Fitness & Nutrition Studios in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Virginia. Stand tall with your feet at hip-width distance apart, shoulders relaxed. Look ahead to keep your neck aligned with your spine, and hold your arms straight in front of you or on your hips. Slowly squat as if you're about to take a seat in the coveted office chair behind you, keeping your heels planted on the ground and torso upright. Aim for eight to 12 reps.

2. LUNGES

Here's another move that will keep your core and legs toned, White says. Make sure your upper body is straight, shoulders are back and relaxed and your chin is up. Step forward with one leg, and lower your hips until both knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. The front knee should be directly above the ankle; your other knee shouldn’t touch the floor. Maintain weight on your heels when you push back up to your standing position. Want a challenge? White suggests adding a bicep curl with dumbbells or walking forward during lunges to keep things interesting. Eight to 12 reps will do the trick.

3. CARDIO

Sweating it out for 20 to 40 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical might be the only kind of cardio you’re familiar with, but it won't necesarily impact your metabolic rate – or how fast your body burns calories – says Nick Balestriere, a health coach at True Health Integrative Systems in Boca Raton, Florida. Consider adding an anaerobic exercise – like sprinting or jumping – when you're done with an aerobic activity, which brings your exercise to a more intense level and boosts your metabolism in the process.

4. YOGA

Take a deep breath. Namaste. “A lack of deep breathing really begins to exacerbate other problems in the human body,” Hackley says. To improve your breathing and flexibility, consider taking a yoga class. During intense yoga workouts, breathing slows down, as opposed to speeding up like it would during a brisk cardio routine. In addition to training your body to breathe, you’ll also stretch tight or unused muscles, White says. That's important because inflexible muscles can lead to lower back problems, tightness and muscle tears, he adds.

5. PLANKS

Ugh! Planks. You love them or hate them, but this grunt-worthy exercise will strengthen your core. “They’re great for spinal stability and back pain,” Balestriere says. Get low to the ground as if you’re going to do a pushup, with your elbows bent 90 degrees and both forearms resting on the floor. Keep your body a straight line from the top of your head to the tips of your heels. Cup your wrists together if they hurt from the pressure. “Start off trying to do it as long as you can, then try to beat that every day,” White says.

6. BODY-WEIGHT RESISTANCE

Building muscle isn't just for bodybuilders. When you’re doing resistance exercises, you’re building and maintaining the amount of thickness in your bones, otherwise referred to as bone mass and density. This kind of exercise is easy to squeeze into your daily routine, too, even if you're on the road. Balestriere suggests purchasing inexpensive suspension straps, which you can carry in your bag. “You have the ability to do single arm chest presses, leg curls and core work, and you don’t even need to leave your hotel room,” Balestriere says. “Resistance training is extremely important for both genders in preventing osteoporosis.”

7. FUNCTIONAL TRAINING

Functional exercises train the muscles that are used for everyday activities like mowing the lawn – such as the chest, triceps, quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. “Functional training can make you stronger for your job,” Balestriere says. By sprinting, jumping, lifting, twisting and bending, you prepare your body for common daily tasks by simulating the movements they require. You might, for example, incorporate kettlebells and weights into your lunges to simulate vacuuming, or do deadlifts to work the muscles you'll need for yardwork.

Benefits of eating guava in the cold

Guava is rich in vitamin C. The amount of pectin in guava is also very high. Gum is very beneficial to eat with its seeds, due to which the stomach is kept clean. Let's know what can be the benefits of eating guava in the cold.

1. Guava is high energy fruit, which contains plenty of vitamins and minerals. These elements are very important for our body.

2. If you want to increase your immune system, taking guava will be very beneficial.

3. Regular intake of guava decreases the risk of problems like winter cold.

4. Vitamin A and E, found in guava, nourishes eyes, hair, and skin.

5. Guava contains beta-carotene which protects the body from skin related diseases.

6. Regular consumption of guava provides relief from constipation problem.

7. The amount of fiber in guava is very high, so it is very good for patients with diabetes.

8. Guava keeps metabolism right, thereby controlling cholesterol levels in the body.

3 Unhealthy Breathing Mistakes Millennials Make Everyday

Stress causes you to expel more carbon dioxide with every exhalation before your body even has time to produce it and can eventually lead to hyperventilation. Slouching for long hours can compress your diaphragm, resulting in weaker exhalations that trap leftover carbon dioxide in your lungs. Similarly, not breathing properly and completely while exercising can also lead to blood pressure spikes and even loss of consciousness.

Life begins and ends with breath. From the time we’re born right until the time we die, we probably end up taking countless breaths, without giving our breathing a second thought. That is, until the day it becomes difficult.

Our body develops the breathing pattern on its own without any conscious awareness placed on us by the world around us. Throughout the day, from sunrise to sunset all and through the night as we sleep, this unconscious pattern of respiration becomes so ingrained in us, we start taking it for granted, thinking of it as just one of those normal bodily functions. In reality, however, our whole life depends on the breaths we take.
Ignorance is certainly not bliss in this case, for this state of unawareness of our own breathing invariably leads to a wrong breathing process. Here are 3 ways we are breathing wrong every day, and more importantly, how this can impact our health negatively.

1. You Let Stress Tell You How To Breathe

How: Every time you’re stressed, you take shorter breaths at a faster rate. This is because anxiety is the triggering of your body’s “fight or flight” system – an inbuilt mechanism that your body developed over the ages to keep you safe. This is accompanied by a more rapid rate of heartbeat, which results in you breathing in at a faster rate; this way you seem to think you’re furnishing your body with more oxygen for either fighting or fleeing.

Why this is a problem: Shallow breathing isn’t a sign that you need more oxygen, but a sign that you’re over-breathing (or expelling carbon dioxide much too quickly before your body has the chance to produce it). Oxygen always fills your lungs the moment you breathe in, but we forget that the body needs a little time to make carbon dioxide. Each time you go into a shallow-breathing mode, your body is made to force out more carbon dioxide than it has with every exhalation.

People with anxiety issues mostly end up making their bodies react as though they are in danger when in reality there is nothing to worry about. This is how anxiety disorders develop, and with the body experiencing shallow breathing very frequently. Eventually, it can give rise to conditions like hyperventilation where your body feels like you’re not getting enough oxygen and forces you to take in deeper breaths at faster rates. It becomes a vicious cycle that causes a long series of other side effects like chest pain, dizziness, and weakness.

Fix it: Set some time aside every day to practice short meditative exercises. This will help you stay mindful of your breathing and help you keep your stress under control.

Also, the next time you’re stressed, do the following steps for a minimum count of 5 times in a row: inhale for 4 seconds, and then exhale for 4 seconds.

2. You Compress Your Diaphragm Far Too Often

How: We’re living in times when we spend a majority of our time staying slouched over laptops and mobile phones. Not only can this act add an extra pressure of about 30 pounds to the cervical spine (which eventually leads to back pain), it can also force your ribs into the diaphragm, the large muscle under your ribs that helps fill air into your lungs.

Why this is a problem: In a normal, healthy state, your diaphragm should be able to contract fully to pull air into your lungs, and upon complete relaxation, it pushes the oxygen-lacking stale air out. Compressing your diaphragm limits your diaphragm’s range of motion, causing you to inhale shallower breaths. Shallow breathing is accompanied by weaker exhalations which can end up trapping up to about 30 percent of the leftover carbon dioxide in your lungs.

Fix it: Set a reminder on your phone to check your posture every 15 minutes. Consciously straighten your spine (imagine a string pulling your head upwards towards the ceiling), allow your shoulders muscles to relax, and then inhale slowly and deeply several times. Keep this up for a few days and very soon, you’ll be surprised to find your posture has fixed itself and that your breathing is deep and uniform.

Practice this exercise on a regular basis every now and then to keep yourself from returning to slumping.

3. You Don’t Breathe While Exercising

How: This is another breathing mistake that we make unconsciously. Each time we exercise, we end up tensing our shoulders and facial muscles. This limits deep, complete exhalations, thus further preventing us from completely expelling carbon dioxide like we’re supposed to.

Why is this a problem: Holding your breath during exercising can cause dangerous blood pressure spikes. Not only will this make you feel more tired and hence, less efficient, you may also end up feeling very lightheaded and may even end up passing out.

Fix it: Keep your shoulder and facial muscles relaxed each time you exercise. If you want to balance out your respiration, try focusing on breathing in through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. If your workout involves strength training or yoga, try breathing out air each time you exert force like pushing yourself up into a pose or lifting a weight. When you get to the easier part of the exercises, use that time to inhale.

Lemon, honey, and alcohol: Which is best for sore throat?

As sore throats are making the rounds through the Medical News Today editorial office, the debate is rife: what is the best drink to soothe the pain? More importantly, whether it's alcohol, spices, or lemon and honey, what is the scientific basis for our home remedy of choice?

A few weeks ago, we found out that both hot and cold drinks or ice pops can help alleviate the pain of a sore throat that most of us will be familiar with during the annual cold and flu season.

Now, the debate has taken another turn: where do alcohol, spices — such as cinnamon and ginger — and lemon and honey fit into the mix?

To find out,  first conducted a scientific survey among the office staff to highlight our drinks-of-choice, followed by a deep dive into the scientific evidence underpinning our beliefs.

Lemon and honey – our 'go-to' remedy

Among the MNT editorial office staff, a home-made hot drink with fresh lemon juice and honey was the most popular choice, with a staggering 62 percent citing it as one of their 'go-to' drinks, while hot lemon on its own took second place with 31 percent.

Our faith in lemon and honey stems from knowledge passed from generation to generation and reports in the media.

"Hot water with lemon and honey – I'm sure I've read it somewhere," and "This is mostly based on family and friends recommending it, although reinforced by studies and things based on getting vitamin C from lemon, and the antibacterial/antimicrobial elements of honey," are just two of the examples that my colleagues cited.

Lemon is popular in drinks because of its high levels of vitamin C. Interest in the use of vitamin C to treat the common cold goes all the way back to the 1940s, but results from the various clinical trials conducted since then varies.

While earlier studies reported that taking vitamin C reduced how long a cold would stick around, the current consensus is that for the general population, it is ineffective.

However, there are certain groups of individuals who may benefit from vitamin C when a cold is looming. These include people who undertake severe physical exercise, those exposed to cold environments, and those with vitamin C levels below the recommended levels.

But there is no evidence that it soothes a sore throat.

Honey, viruses, and pain

Honey is known for its antimicrobial properties. One study found that Manuka honey is effective in reducing how quickly the influenza virus — the cause of the flu — reproduces.

When it comes to pain, honey has been studied mostly in the context of tonsillectomy, and research has shown that honey is effective. Bingo.

Other studies have looked into the effectiveness of honey to reduce cough, associated with the common cold and flu. Here, several clinical trials have shown a small improvement in nighttime cough and sleep quality in children over the age of 1 year.

So, honey probably helps with the pain and the lemon may or may not help speed up recovery from our symptoms.

Alcoholic drinks 'joint second' favorite

While lemon and honey was the clear winner in our race to beat a sore throat, alcoholic drinks took joint second place, with 31 percent of MNT editorial folk saying hot or cold alcoholic drinks soothe their sore throat.

The reasons for this ranged from "alcohol to 'disinfect' my throat," to "alcohol is an anesthetic after all."

While there is evidence that alcohol can kill the viruses responsible for the common cold and flu, this is really only the case for alcoholic hand gels and sanitizers or for lozenges that contain alcohol.

Alcohol does have anesthetic effects, but there is no scientific evidence of the benefits that we attribute to various alcoholic concoctions in calming our sore throat. It is purely speculation.

However, alcohol is a vasodilator. So, if you are feeling cold and achy due to a viral cold or flu infection, an alcoholic drink can bring a rosy tint to your cheeks and help you feel warm and fuzzy at the same time.

Spices bring up the rear

The final category in the office survey was spiced or mulled drinks.

Ginger was cited by 23 percent of my colleagues as an effective method to soothe a sore throat. Indeed, ginger has been shown to reduce pain.

In one study, researchers used computer modeling to find out if ginger could prevent influenza infection — particularly the H1N1 strain that causes swine flu. The team found that the active ingredient in ginger prevents the virus from infecting human cells.

The final throat-soother on our list is cinnamon, which was preferred by 8 percent of the office.

"This is based on trying it out and reading about the properties of cinnamon," was one of the reasons for choosing this popular spice.

According to one study, a component found in the essential oil contained in cinnamon inhibited the growth of the influenza A virus in vitro and in vivo. But there are no specific studies looking at cinnamon and sore throat.

According to the research, 99 percent of people use some form of home remedy when they experience the trials and tribulations that come with the common cold.

Similar to the results of our office survey, honey was a clear favorite on the list, which 42 percent of participants looked to for relief.

While it's important to remember that the scientific basis for all of the home remedies preferred by the MNToffice staff is fairly slim, hot drinks of any kind of description have been shown to have the best effect on sore throats.

As Prof. Ron Eccles — previously the director of the Common Cold Centre in the School of Biosciences at the University of Cardiff in the United Kingdom — explained, hot drinks — especially hot, sweet drinks — help to lubricate a sore throat and soothe the pain.