Work More Muscles at a Time

Written by Vera Tweed
Photos by doritthies.com

“When you’re tired at the end of the day, you slump over your desk,” says Matt Mahowald, a personal trainer and the co-owner of Performance Fitness Concepts, a nutrition and fitness facility in Santa Monica, Calif., where Hollywood A-list celebrities and regular folks alike learn how to reshape their bodies and improve their health. “These exercises retrain your body for proper posture and utilization of all your muscles.” The exercises target abdominal, butt, leg and back muscles.

Do 15 reps of each exercise per set or as many as you can without sacrificing your form. Start with 1 or 2 sets, and work up to 4 or 5.

Shoulder Press    Sit on the ball, holding a pair of dumbbells. With straight arms, lift  out to the sides, then return to the starting position. You can also do biceps curls while sitting on the ball.

Hamstring Curl Lie on your back, arms out to the sides, with the back of your ankles on the ball. Lift your pelvis, making a straight line from your shoulders to your feet. Bending your knees, roll the ball back toward your butt until your feet are flat on the ball, keeping your pelvis elevated off the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat. Use your abdominal, butt and back muscles to stabilize.