The Surprising Way To Get Flatter Abs For Summer
Add this to your to-do list at the beach and majorly work that core. (Photo: Steven Brahms)
The Sculpting Secret
It’s no coincidence that surfers and stand-up paddleboarders (SUPers) look great in their bikinis. Both sports help build serious abdominal muscles—a product of fighting through waves and constantly adjusting to the ocean’s unsteady surface. “Every paddle and power stroke uses your core, and that’s about 80 percent of an SUP workout,” says pro paddleboarder and SUP yoga instructor Gillian Gibree (shown here), owner of Paddle Into Fitness in San Diego.
And building a strong core is important for more than looking good in a two-piece. “It’s essential for day-to-day activities like twisting and lifting, but it also improves coordination and can help prevent knee, spinal and running injuries,” says Venu Akuthota, MD, professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Just doing crunches won’t cut it, either. “In real life,” Dr. Akuthota says, “you don’t use your transverse abs or obliques in isolation. You use them in combination with other muscles in your stomach, back and butt.”
Paddling or surfing on a board is one way to work all those key areas; another is with a strength-training routine that focuses on a range of core muscles. You can also try a fun twist, and a brand-new challenge, with indoor group workouts. These classes, available nationwide, use unstable surfaces to engage the core and simulate real-life sports—no swimsuit required.
Related: 10 Ways to Guarantee You Get Up for That A.M. Workout
Core Classes to Try
SURFSET Practice planks, squats, push-ups and pop-ups (the surf term for the transition from lying to standing) on a 70-by-22-inch surfboard secured atop inflatable balls. Each class has a cardio component, too, with heart-pumping moves like wave runners, SurfSet’s version of mountain climbers done on the board. Find a class at SurfSetFitness.com.
INDO YOGA BOARD This 69-by-16-inch wooden board rocks side to side as you flow through Vinyasa sequences. Once your balance and technique improve, you can up the difficulty level by attaching inflatable cushions to the board’s underside. Find a class at IndoBoard.com.
REALRYDER BIKES If indoor cycling is more your style, try a class on a RealRyder bike. They’re built on a special frame that constantly moves beneath you the way a bike would, forcing you to engage your core as you move in three planes of motion—leaning side to side, shifting forward and back and rotating during turns. Find a class at RealRyder.com.
By Maura Corrigan
Photo: Bikini, $79; Triangl.com. Stand-up paddleboard, $795; IsleSurfAndSUP.com
Styled by Lindsey Frugier. Hair, Sheridan Ward at The Wall Group; makeup, John Mckay at De Facto For Chanel Les Beiges Powder; production, Kelsey Stevens Productions; model, Gillian Gibree at Slu.
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