Hit the tenderloin! 4 exercises to sculpt your core muscles

As the weather gets warmer, many people worry about the shame of having fat around their waists and abdomens after taking off their heavy winter clothes. Experts say that the area from the diaphragm to the pelvic floor is a core muscle that is rarely exercised, making it easy for local fat to accumulate. It is recommended to strengthen this core muscle group through the following 4 sculpting exercises, which can not only reduce the fat in the waist, but also prevent lower back pain. (Video/Photographer Huang Zhiwen)

The area from the diaphragm to the pelvic floor belongs to the core muscles, which are rarely exercised and are prone to local fat accumulation. (Photography by Zhang Yawen)

Mackay Memorial Hospital physiotherapist Cai Liying said that the core muscle group of the waist and abdomen actually plays an important role in daily life movements, such as holding a child, turning around, etc. If there is no proper exercise to strengthen the muscle strength, it is easy to suffer from back pain and cause waist and abdominal obesity.

In order to make it easier for ordinary people to operate, Cai Liying designed a set of 4 exercises that can be performed on a chair. She said that if you do each exercise 10 times a day for 6 to 8 weeks, you should be able to see initial results. However, she also reminded that everyone's physical condition is different and everyone should do what they can; some people with special physical conditions should seek experts to tailor an exercise prescription suitable for them, which is safer.

【Core Warm-up Exercise】

Core warm-up exercise (Photography/Huang Zhiwen)

First inhale, stretch your body backwards as if stretching, and when exhale, pull your body inwards.

[Breaststroke]

Breaststroke (Photography by Huang Zhiwen)

Keep your upper body still, hold the edge of the chair with both hands, stretch your legs forward, and make circles like swimming breaststroke, then retract them and return to the original stretched position; you can also make circles in the opposite direction.

[Mermaid style]

Mermaid pose (Photography by Huang Zhiwen)

Similarly, keep your upper body still, straighten your feet forward first, then pull your legs back to the side and twist them downward. You will feel the force in your waist. After returning to the original position, switch sides and do it again. This counts as one time.

【Buttocks style】

Hip-lifting pose (Photography/Huang Zhiwen)

After standing up, bend your body forward and hold the back of the chair with both hands. First, pull one knee inward, then lift it back and look upward to extend your leg. After returning to the original position, switch sides and do it again. It counts as one time.

Dr. Xiao Baifen, a dermatologist at Mackay Memorial Hospital, pointed out that in addition to doing exercises to sculpt the waist and abdomen, targeted shock wave lipolysis can be used to assist in treating local obesity, especially those with thicker subcutaneous fat layers. However, relevant exercises should still be combined after the treatment to enhance the treatment effect.