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Original link: http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100164999

Look 5 pounds slimmer without losing an ounce or doing a single crunch.
By Selene Yeager
 

Imagine if your belly always looked as good as it does when you turn sideways in the mirror and suck it in. Ab exercises can help, but 5—or even 50—minutes of crunches won't do any good if you're letting it all hang out for the remaining 23 hours of the day.

One of the abdominal muscles' biggest jobs is to hold our bodies upright, and research shows that rampant poor posture puts these muscles to sleep, leaving Americans in a constant belly-bulging slump. It's a particularly pesky problem for women who've had children. Stretched ab muscles and carrying kids can make it difficult to stand up straight for years after delivery.

The good news: "Correcting poor posture can make you look 5 pounds slimmer instantly," says Deborah L. Mullen, a certified strength and conditioning specialist in San Luis Obispo, CA. To keep that trim profile 24-7, you need to retrain and strengthen those belly-slimming, stand-tall muscles, so Prevention went to the nation's top posture pros for their best advice.

A Wake-Up Call for Flatter Abs
In an Australian study, researchers zeroed in on exactly what your muscles do while you're hunched over your computer.

They tested 20 people as they sat slumped in chairs and stood with their backs arched and bellies pooched out, and then again when they stood and sat erect. Not surprisingly, key posture muscles in both their bellies and backs were slack when they slouched; those muscles jumped to attention when the volunteers straightened up."The less we use our muscles, the weaker they become," says posture researcher Thomas Cowan, MD, a neurologist at Millard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo, NY.

The fix: Strengthen and reinforce your ab and back muscles with Pilates, suggests a 6-month pilot study of 18 chronic back pain sufferers. "After 30 sessions, 15 of them got phenomenal relief," says Cowan, who conducted the study. "They had the strength and flexibility to support proper posture."

Back Straight, Head Up, Tummy In
Ballerinas make it look easy, but maintaining good posture can be a battle. "All of our senses are in front of us; we lean forward to look, eat, smell, touch, even hear," says John Friend, founder of Anusara Yoga, a style that focuses on alignment.

"And all that forward leaning tightens the muscles in the front of the body and weakens those in back."

Pilates Moves
Do these exercises three times a week to strengthen the muscles in your back and belly so you'll stand taller and look slimmer.

Leg Lower and Lift

Lie on your back with your hands behind your head and your legs extended and lifted directly over your hips, perpendicular to the floor. Point your toes toward the ceiling, turn your feet out slightly, and lift your head, looking between your thighs. This is the starting position.

Inhale while lowering your legs toward the floor about 6 inches (don't arch your back). Exhale while lifting them back up. Begin with four reps, and work up to eight.

Back Extension

Lie on your stomach with your arms at your sides, palms up. Place your forehead on the floor. Keep looking down as you contract your back muscles and lift your torso off the floor, lengthening through the top of your head and reaching through your hands back toward your feet. Pause, then lower. Do six reps.

Now, extend your arms overhead so your palms rest on the floor in front of you (like Superman flying). With your upper body still and your legs slightly apart, lengthen and lift both legs as high as comfortably possible. Pause, then lower. Do six reps.

Post-Work Yoga Stretch
This yoga pose will help stretch tight hip muscles and prevent you from overarching your back and sticking out your belly while you stand. Do this move once a day, particularly after long periods of sitting.

The Warrior

  Stand tall with your feet about hip-width apart. Take a giant step forward with your left foot, bending that knee so your thigh is almost parallel to the floor (be sure your knee does not jut past your toes). Turn your right foot out on an angle so your right arch faces the heel of your left foot. Raise your arms over your head, palms facing each other. Your hips and shoulders should be facing forward. Hold for 30 seconds, then switch legs.

Sit Pretty

Even if you start the day with perfect posture, it's a hard position to hold when you're at a desk for 8 to 9 hours, says Vert Mooney, MD, professor of orthopedics at the University of California, San Diego. "Prolonged sitting is deceptively difficult." The result: After hours of tapping on a keyboard, driving a car, and sitting in front of the TV, your shoulders round, your chin juts forward, your lower back collapses so you're sitting back on your butt—and your belly sticks out.

But you can avoid this meltdown and train your tummy-slimming muscles while you're on your butt by following the guidelines for good seated posture and practicing the desk stretch. Studies show that taking short breaks during your workday—even just a few seconds to stretch—won't decrease your productivity and can keep you sitting taller and looking slimmer.

Sit Tall Exercise
To keep your spine elongated against the constant pull of gravity while you're in a chair, stretch it out at least twice during the workday.

Desk Stretch

Sit on the front edge of a chair with feet flat on the floor and your body weight evenly distributed on top of your two pelvic sit bones. Keeping your shoulders down, clasp your hands with fingers interlocked and raise your arms overhead, palms to the ceiling. Lift your abdominal muscles to lengthen your lower back and stretch your spine up while keeping your gaze forward. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Release your hands as you relax your arms down by your sides, keeping the spine lengthened. Exhale completely, inhale slowly, and then exhale again as you relax the muscles of your shoulders, arms, neck, and jaw.

Relax Your Tummy Away
In the pursuit of a belly worth baring, muscle strength and flexibility are only part of the battle. The other part is relaxation, says Hope Gillerman, who teaches the Alexander Technique, a bodywork therapy focused on reducing muscle tension and balancing the body, in New York City. "The stress of daily life puts us in constant 'fight or flight' mode," she says. "That causes our neck muscles to contract and shoulders to hunch, pulling our head toward our spine. We're constantly tensed up as if we were walking on ice."

To shed built-up stress, Gillerman recommends a daily 10-minute floor stretch: Lie on your back, knees bent, and feet flat on the floor, with a telephone book under your head. Place your hands on your ribs and breathe deeply and evenly. Visualize your neck falling toward the floor and the top of your head floating away from your shoulders. Allow gravity to pull your back flat and relaxed. "It's a subtle stretch, but it releases tension."

Stress-Relief Moves

During the day, keep stress from bulging your belly by doing the moves shown below. Perform these stretches twice a day—once midmorning and once midafternoon—to help prevent that stress-induced hunch and belly pooch.

Shoulder Stretch

Think of something pleasant; it helps relax your shoulders. Stand with your chest lifted and your shoulder blades down and back. Bend your left arm behind your back. Place the back of the left hand on your back and slide it up between your shoulder blades. Extend your right arm overhead, and bend the elbow, reaching your right hand between your shoulders to touch your left hand. Clasp fingers if possible. If your shoulders are too tight, place a small rolled towel in your right hand and use that to connect your hands. Stretch your elbows in opposite directions, breathing evenly for 30 seconds. Then release, switch arms, and repeat.

Seated Arch

Sit straight on the edge of a chair and place your hands in a comfortable position on the back of your pelvis. Squeeze your shoulder blades together, gently push your abs forward, and lift your chest toward the ceiling. Carefully drop your head backward as far as comfortably possible. Hold for 10 seconds, breathing deeply throughout.

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