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March Fitness Tips

Michelle Walker, the Recreational Specialist at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C., poses for her photo in the base gym on November 2, 2011.  Michelle was hired to work at the base gym to train, educate and encourage McEntire’s airmen to remain “fit to fight” and excel in the new Air Force fitness standards. 
(SCANG photo by TSgt Caycee Cook)

Michelle Walker, the Recreational Specialist at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C., poses for her photo in the base gym on November 2, 2011. Michelle was hired to work at the base gym to train, educate and encourage McEntire’s airmen to remain “fit to fight” and excel in the new Air Force fitness standards. (SCANG photo by TSgt Caycee Cook)

MCENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, S.C. --

Core exercises you can do anywhere
The best ab exercises are ones that work more than just one part of your abdominal muscles. Yes, there are multiple layers of muscles (plus soft tissue, nerves, and blood vessels) that make up the full abdominal wall. Even though you can't see or feel them all, they're really important to keep your entire body strong and stable.

The rectus abdominis is the muscle you think of when you think "abs." It's the outermost abdominal muscle, and runs vertically along each side of your abdominal wall. The transverse abdominis is the deepest muscle of the abdominal wall, which means it's closest to your spine, and basically wraps around your torso between your ribs and your hips. The oblique muscles run along the sides of your torso, and there are two sets: internal and external. The internal obliques lie above the transverse abdominis, and then the external obliques are on top of those (they're the most superficial of the bunch). There's also a handful of other smaller muscles in this area- what we call the core- that work to stabilize the spine and allow us to bend and twist and lift without hurting ourselves.

Plank
Place your palms flat on the floor, hands shoulder-width apart, shoulders stacked directly above your wrists.
Extend your legs behind you, feet hip-width apart.
Tuck your tailbone and engage your core, butt, and quads.
Hold here for 1 minute.
Targets the deltoids, latissimus dorsi, glutes, and core.

Forearm Plank
Place your forearms on the floor, elbows directly underneath your shoulders, hands facing forward so that your arms are parallel.
Extend your legs behind you, feet hip-width apart.
Tuck your tailbone and engage your core, butt, and quads.
Hold here for 1 minute.
Targets the core, latissimus dorsi, glutes, and deltoids.

Lateral Plank Walk
Start in a high plank position with your palms flat on the floor, hands shoulder-width apart, shoulders stacked directly above your wrists, legs extended behind you, and your core and glutes engaged.
Take a step to the right starting with your right hand and right foot and following with your left hand and foot, maintaining a plank position as you move. This is 1 rep.
Do a set amount of reps in one direction, and then repeat the same amount moving in the opposite direction.
Targets the core, latissimus dorsi, deltoids, and triceps

Bird Dog Crunch
Start on your hands and knees in tabletop position with your wrists stacked under your shoulders and your knees stacked under your hips.
Extend your right arm forward and left leg back, maintaining a flat back and keeping your hips in line with the floor. Think about driving your foot toward the wall behind you.
Squeeze your abs and draw your right elbow and left knee in to meet near the center of your body.
Reverse the movement and extend your arm and leg back out.
Continue this movement for a set amount of time, then repeat with the other arm and leg.
Targets the core and glutes.

Plank with Spinal Rotation
Start in a high plank with your palms flat, hands shoulder-width apart, shoulders stacked directly above your wrists, legs extended behind you, and your core and glutes engaged. Place your feet hip-width apart.
Rotate your entire body to the right into a side plank, so that your right shoulder is stacked above your right wrist and your left hand is extended toward the ceiling. Pause here for a second, then return to start. That's 1 rep.
Targets the core, glutes, latissimus dorsi, and deltoids.

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