Rotating your torso against a resisting force such as gravity is what you need to do to work your abdominal obliques. Performing this motion while using fun fitness tools can take you to tight and hard in half the time. Whatcha waiting for? Check out this video and get to work!

For a to-die-for low fat cheesecake recipe, celebrity Fitzness interviews and innovative training videos visit Fitzness.com.

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Want to get a a jump start on the new year? Then get on the ball -- literally.

FitSugar loves an exercise ball for toning the mid-section. Want to target your lower abs and obliques? Then bounce on over here and get things rolling.

When it comes to strength training, I tend to make my moves relatively slow, controlled, and deliberate. But according to a post on Women's Health, there can be benefits to adding a little speed when you're doing crunches.

A recent study on the subject was published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The lead researcher of the study says that fast crunches -- where the up and down movement is completed in one second -- make your external obliques do some of the work.

If you want to try some fast crunches, think of it like interval training for your core. Do your regular ab workout -- at a regular speed -- and add a few fast crunches for good measure.

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You don't have to wear a flannel coat in order to develop a lumberjack's strength and definition in your midsection (besides, people will probably just think you're pushing for a rebirth of grunge). And, you never have to actually swing an ax. But, you still do need to put in time doing some good, old fashioned wood choppin'.

The Woodchopper is a great way to target your obliques, as well as many other core muscles. To do it, start by holding a single dumbbell at waist level with both hands. Keep your feet just slightly wider than shoulder width apart, your knees and waist slightly bent. Twist your torso upwards and away from your legs as you pull the dumbbell over the shoulder you're twisting toward. At this point, the dumbbell should be over your shoulder, with both hands still holding onto it. Finish the move by lowering your torso and driving the dumbbell downward and diagonally across your body, toward the foot on your opposite leg. This constitutes one full rep. Stopping there, obviously, isn't even close to being done. Shoot for at least eight to ten on each side.

Words, words, words ... there's only so much you can do with them. By now, I may have thoroughly confused you with those I chose to use in describing the Woodchopper exercise. Thankfully, there is a little something called the internet, and on it exists a plethora of photographs and videos. Here's one I found that describes the mechanics of this exercise far better with images than I did with text. (Note: in this video, the demonstrator uses a cable instead of a dumbbell).

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If I write a post that has the word "Abs" in the title, it invariably becomes one of my most well-read entries for the day. This comes as no surprise, really, since it is this part of the body that people seem most interested in shaping. Obviously, other exercise magazines are aware of this, too, which is why almost every issue of every health publication has the word "Abs" splashed across its cover. Well, I know you don't read those magazines or visit this website to be given the inside scoop on marketing tactics, so I'll turn the attention to why you do: Because you want to learn how to shape your abs!!

As I've said dozens of times before, the real trick to whittling down your waist has less to do with ab exercises and more to do with diet and cardio. You could work your abs to exhaustion several times a week, but if you don't reduce your overall body fat, you'll never see them. We'll call that Lesson No. 1.

This, of course, is not to say that you shouldn't do any ab exercises until you've reduced your body fat percentage. Go ahead with your bad self, do those hanging leg raises, bicycle crunches, and so on. This way, your abs will be properly built and ready to shine once you strip away those extra layers of fat. This brings me to Lesson No. 2.

Pilates is one of the hottest fitness trends out there, and I can see why. It's a great workout for your core muscles, and strengthening your core has a number of great benefits, including helping your balance and posture, not to mention bringing you one step closer to a flat stomach.

But going to your first Pilates class can be a bit overwhelming. Unless you're in a beginner class, your instructor will use all sorts of terms that might be confusing -- sit bones, transverse abdominus, obliques and so on. If you're considering taking up Pilates, check out this handy guide from Think Pilates. They've covered all the proper terms -- so you can navigate your first pilates class with ease.

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Having a bit of a buddha belly (like I do) is usually a sign that you're just eating too many calories, but many experts are beginning to believe that some foods can go straight to your abs, giving you that dreaded muffin top. If you're trying to take some pounds off your midsection, AOL Body has these tips:

-Eat lots of veggies, especially orange ones
-Get more Selenium in your diet (Selenium can be found in some Cheeses -- Hooray!)
-Up the protein in your diet
-Drink a glass of wine every day (Wicked!)
-Eat only good fats, like olive oil.

I guess a couple hundred crunches a day could also help, but drinking wine is a much more viable option for me. You too?

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