Fitness Tip of the Day: Tuesday's Trunk and Core -- Superstar Abs

Today's workout comes from the LivestrongWoman channel on YouTube.  It is from the A-list Look with Valerie Waters series.

This 6 minute workout can be done alone, or along with a cardio or other body strengthening workout.  If you don't have a ball, you can use a small pillow.

If this is the only workout you're doing, it can be done 2-3 times to really fatigue the muscles, but please warm up first, and don't forget to stretch afterward--your abs and your lower back.

One big safety cue--when your hands are behind your head, draw your elbows back behind your ears opening up your chest.  She cues you not to pull on your head--but she kind of does that by drawing her elbows in right next to her head.  Remember, lead with your chest when coming up straight and lead with your shoulder when adding rotation as you lift.  A fist should always be able to fit between your chin and your chest.  All movements should be smooth and controlled.

Remember it's important to muscle balance, she does the bridges at the beginning, but I'd do some additional lower back work as well.