Innovative abdominal training

Yes, we all do crunches. Crunches, crunches and more crunches. I do them myself, and think very highly of them. But! If you'd like to change things up and work on sculpting your fancy torso in new way, give these skills a try.

• Prone pikes. Place your feet on a stability ball or on some Gliding Disks, with your hands on the floor in push-up position. Back flat. Lift your hips straight up to the sky while keeping your legs straight. Once you've elevated your hips as high as they'll go ... lower back to push-up position. Repeat at least eight times. Add one rep each day you do these. Very advanced!

• Front kicks. Stand with one foot in front of the other with feet shoulder width apart. Lift the front leg by the knee first, and follow to extend your foot up high. You'll engage your hip-flexors and rectus abdominus as you raise that leg up high. Kick within your comfortable range at first, but challenge yourself to kick higher along the way. The higher you lift your knee, the more you'll work your abs. Switch your stance and repeat on the other leg. Kick at least 20 times per leg. Beginner to advanced level exercise, depending on how high you kick.

• Push-ups. I love the push-ups as it kills a tons of birds with one stone. Yes, it is known for being a tremendous workout for your chest and triceps, but it also utilizes your trapezius (upper back), deltoids (shoulders), biceps, erector spinae (low back), glutes (tush), and abdominals. Do three sets of as many REAL on your feet push-ups as you can, every other day ... and you'll experience an amazing response from your abdominals. This is "core training" at its finest. Keep your neck, back and glutes in alignment as you raise and lower your chest towards the ground. Bend at the elbows to get there. Moderate level exercise.

• Cable cord punch. Stand up straight, knees soft, feet shoulder-width apart, and grab a cable or tube handle at shoulder height. Stand with your shoulder toward the handle, far enough away so that your arm is straight as you begin the exercise. Perform a bicep curl by bringing your hand in towards your shoulder, and follow through with the motion by rotating and punching past your opposite shoulder. This will work your obliques. Try at least 20 reps on each side, and add either greater resistance or more repetitions each time your perform this exercise. Beginner or advanced ... depending on how much resistance you use.