Workout
Begin by laying on your back. Warm up with light stretching by reaching your arms overhead and lengthening your legs but keep your knees slightly bent. Point and flex toes 5 times. Bring your knees up to your chest and wrap your arms around your knees. Give yourself a hug and rock side to side.
Rest your feet on the floor keeping your knees bent. Shift your hips so that you can flatten your lower back into the floor by pulling your belly button into your spine. This will protect your back. Place your hands behind your head and gently rest your finger tips on the back of your head. Keeping your head inline with your spine and square with your shoulders, slowly lift your shoulders off the ground as high as you can while tightening your abs. Hold this pose for at least 3 seconds then slowly release the pose by rolling the spine back down towards the floor until your shoulders reach the floor. Repeat. Complete 2 sets of 8.
Keeping the same resting position, this time roll up by lifting your shoulders off the floor and take the right hand off your head. With the right hand reach around the right side of your body down toward your right ankle while continuing to raise your shoulders off the floor. Hold for at least 3 seconds. Bring your hand back to your head while rolling your upper body all the way back to the floor. Repeat the movement on your left side by releasing your left hand off your head and reaching around the left side of your body toward your left ankle. Hold the pose for at least 3 seconds. Bring your hand back to your head while rolling your upper body all the way back to the floor. Repeat. Complete 2 sets of 8.
Laying on the floor, stretch out your legs lengthwise. Bring your arms overhead and stretched out. Slowly roll your upper body off the floor keeping your arms inline with your upper body and raising your arms at the same time. Keep rolling your upper body up and forward until you can reach your toes. Keep your arms stretched out and square with your shoulder at all times. Once you touch your toes, reverse the movement by slowly returning to the floor. Repeat. Complete 2 sets of 8. Optional: Hold a 10 lb. weight lengthwise between both hands during the movement.
On the last rep from the previous exercise, come back to a resting position with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Sit back until you feel your abs pull but you feel comfortable. Keeping this position and holding your hands in front of you or hold a 10 lb. weight lengthwise between both hands then slowly twist sideways to the right. Slowly twist back to the center position and hold for at least 3 seconds before twisting to the left. Twist back to the center position and hold for at least 3 seconds. This is one complete rep. Repeat. Complete 2 sets of 8.