Lose the Belly Flab

Lose the Belly Flab is another new-to-me workout by Tracey Mallet. I decided to get this one because she mentioned it in Get Your Body Back. She tells you to use the two workouts together. So I checked this one out and though it is core focused it also has lower body work, so I decided to give a it a try. In the intro to this workout, Tracey calls it the “super fit mama” method that celebrities use to get their bodies back after giving birth. The DVD contains 3 short (approximately 10 minutes each) core workouts and 2 short lower body workouts (also approximately 10 minutes each). Since this is geared toward women who just had a baby, there is also an 8 minute segment called “Core Foundation.” In this segment, Tracey is addressing mothers who literally just had a baby. She doesn’t want someone who recently had a baby to just jump into these workouts so she discusses diastasis recti (separation of abdominal muscles). She demonstrates a test to see if you have separation and also to gauge the severity of your separation. She gives you an exercise to do if you find you do have diastasis recti to help your abdominals “rejoin.” Finally, the last 5 minutes are some very basic, simple abdominal exercises she wants you to do before you start doing the other abdominal workouts on this DVD; however she doesn’t say how long you should do them before moving on, just when you feel you are “ready.”

Now, I bought this DVD primarily for the lower body segments but since I did pay for it, I did everything–so it is all reviewed here. But in the future I probably won’t bother with any of the core workouts again. I am only interested in the lower body workouts. So they are the first things I will review. The core workouts will follow.

The two lower body segments are perfect for little add ons after a weighted lower body workout. They consist of mat and barre work. They are great for finishing your legs off. But you could also do both of them back to back for a more intense 20 minute lower body workout. The first time I did the lower workouts I used them back to back to finish off a weighted lower body workout–so my legs were already fried when I came to them and that may have made them seem more challenging than if I had come to them fresh. If you do come to them without having done anything first, you might want to warm up for a few minutes (jog in place, do some jumping jacks, etc) before starting. I found them to be challenging for such short workouts. I did wear one pound ankle weights throughout both workouts.

Butt Blast Phase 1: 10 minutes long. You need a dynaband. I also wore one pound ankle weights. This segment is all mat work.

1. You will be on hands and knees w/ dynaband wrapped around one foot and one end under each hand on the ground; kick back into donkey kicks; changes to raising and lowering straight leg; changes to straight leg pulses; repeat on other leg
2. Lay on side w/ bottom knee bent and band wrapped around foot of top leg, holding both ends of the band together on the floor in front of torso; bend and straighten top leg; this changes to raising and lowering straight leg; changes to pulsing straight leg; changes to swinging straight leg in front of body then swinging straight leg behind body; repeat on other leg
3. Lay on back, legs straight up to ceiling and band wrapped around both feet, bands crossed with an end held in each hand, toes are pointed toward each other w/ heels pointing out; open and close straight legs; changes to pulses (set band aside at the end of this exercise)
4. Get into dolphin pose (down dog on elbows) but bend knees so they are a few inches off ground; straighten one leg out behind you and raise and lower that leg; this changes slightly–you still raise and lower straight leg but now you cross it behind the opposite leg at the bottom of the move; repeat on other leg
5. Lay on your stomach, resting your forehead on your hands, bend and open knees bringing soles of feet together; raise and lower knees in this position
6. Still on stomach, raise both legs, arms and chest off ground and do swimmers
7. Still on stomach, pull bent arms back (keeping them raised off ground) while raising chest, legs are still raised off ground and straight; scissor legs in this position
8. Last 30 seconds is a stretch

Butt Blast Phase 2: 10 minutes long. You need a dynaband and a chair. I also used a firewalker (substituted it for the dynaband for two of the exercises) and I wore one pound ankle weights. This workout has a bit of everything: some firewalking, some barre work and some mat work.

1. Tie dynaband into a circle around ankles (or just use firewalker); turn feet outward and step out into plie squats
2. Dynaband/firewalker still around ankles; squat walk 2x each side (remove band at the end of this exercise)
3. Stand beside chair, raise leg furthest from chair out to side and bend knee; bring knee in front of you (keeping leg level in hydrant) and push leg out straight to side
4. Hold leg out straight to side; bend knee so heel comes behind you then extend out straight
5. Keep leg raised and knee bent in hydrant; in this pose push foot back behind you, return to start and raise leg (still in hydrant)
6. Lift and lower in hydrant
7. Repeat the barre/chair work on other leg
8. Return to mat and lay on side w/ bottom knee bent and dynaband wrapped around foot of top leg, holding the ends of the band together on the floor in front of torso, top leg is straight; bring top straight leg behind you (leaning torso forward slightly) and do small circles with leg; this changes to bringing straight leg to side of body and doing more leg circles; this changes to straight leg pulses; repeat on other leg (set band aside at end of this exercise)
9. Get into pretzel pose: sit on mat, one leg bent in front of you and the other bent behind you, so your legs are in a sort of Z or pretzel, lean forward placing palms on ground in front of you; raise and lower your back leg off ground, keeping knee and heel level; repeat on other leg
10. Lay on stomach, raise arms, legs and chest off ground; reach one arm around behind you while turning head to look behind you; in this position flutter kick (do this on both sides of body)
11. Starfish: still on stomach with arms, chest and legs raised, turn toes out so heels touch; open arms and legs wide then close them, keeping everything elevated throughout
12. Still on stomach with arms, chest, shoulders and legs raised, bend elbows so hands are near shoulders (still raised off ground) and quickly open and close feet/legs
13. Last 30 seconds is a stretch

Ab Conditioning Phase 1: 12 minutes long. You need a dynaband and pilates ball (or a towel and a pillow can be substituted). This is not an advanced or difficult core workout but I felt it. I liked it and since it is geared toward the beginner (or mom restarting core work after having a baby) she never reps you out. But they are all effective exercises that I felt.

1. Pelvic Curls (bridges)
2. Lay on back, knees bent, feet on floor; fold band in half and place just under knees holding one end in each hand; do slow crunches
3. Raise feet off floor, knees still bent; place folded band just above knees, still holding one end in each hand, and raise head off floor; drop right leg so toe touches floor, then left leg; while doing this press band against knees and knees against band
4. With legs/band in same position as #3 do bicycle maneuver with legs
5. Set band aside and place feet on floor, knees still bent; raise head and shoulders and reach hands towards feet; do side bends, alternate reaching right hand to right foot, left hand to left foot
6. Get into side elbow plank but with bottom leg bent, knee on floor; raise and lower hips while also raising top leg
7. Dolphin to plank (get into a dolphin pose (down dog but on elbows) and alternate dolphin to plank)
8. Get into straight arm plank and alternate bringing knees into chest
9. Lay on back, hands behind head, left leg bent with foot on floor and right leg raised straight to ceiling; twist left elbow to right knee then lower leg
10. Repeat #9 on other side of body
11. Reverse crunches w/ ball between knees
12. Wag the tail (get on hands and knees and shift hips to one side, tilt pelvis then return to start; alternate sides)

Ab Conditioning Phase 2: 10 minutes long. You need a dynaband and pilates ball (or a towel and a pillow can be substituted). Phase 2 isn’t super advanced either, though it is more advanced than Phase 1. It takes some of the exercises done in Phase 1 and makes them a bit more advanced.

1. Pelvic Curls (bridges); this time you will hold in bridge and do pulses
2. Raise feet off floor, knees bent; place folded band just above knees, holding one end in each hand, raise head off floor; do pulsing crunches, pressing band against legs
3. Extend right leg straight to ceiling (band still pressed above knee) and left leg is also straight but a few inches off the floor, head and shoulders raised; do scissor kicks
4. Reverse crunches w/ ball between knees but this time with a twist; tilt hips to right, to center, then to left
5. Kayaking (sit up, feet on floor, lean torso back and clasp hands; in this position, do a figure 8 motion with hands, side to side, like rowing)
6. Get into side elbow plank but with bottom leg bent, knee on floor; raise and lower hips while also raising top leg (this time you will also reach the top arm overhead each time you lift leg and you will also do the reps faster)
7. Get into elbow plank and alternate bringing knees to chest; this changes to twisting hips side to side, touching same side knee to ground
8. In straight arm plank, lift each leg 8 times
9. Kneel, starting with bottom on heels; raise and lower hips while keeping torso leaning back slightly; this changes to twisting torso with hands behind head while on knees and leaning torso back
10. Sit on bottom and lean torso back on elbows/forearms; bend one knee placing foot on ground and straighten the other leg; raise and lower both legs at the same time while holding them in this position
11. Still leaning back on elbows/forearms, bicycle legs
12. Repeat #10 with leg positions swapped
13. Repeat #11
14. Cobra to stretch abs

Bonus Hard Core Abs is 10 minutes long. You need one light dumbbell; I used a 5 pound dumbbell. This was the most advanced core workout of the 3. It was pretty tough. She does have another person present doing easier versions of the exercises.

1. Lift Ups: start sitting up holding DB in both hands in front of you w/ straight arms; roll down to bra line then roll back up
2. Lay on back w/ one leg bent/foot on ground and other leg straight up in the air, still holding DB in both hands; reach DB up to foot then lower torso and straight leg to ground
3. Lift both legs up straight to ceiling, still holding DB in both hands; reach DB toward both feet then lower DB overhead while lowering both legs a few inches off ground
4. Start laying on back, knees bent and feet raised off floor, still holding DB in both hands, arms overhead; roll torso up so you are in bent knee boat pose, pushing DB so it is over shins then slowly lower back to starting position
5. Sit up with knees bent and feet on ground, still holding DB in both hands w/ arms straight in front of you; lower torso partially then twist DB to one side close to the floor, twist DB to other side close to the floor, return to start position
6. Get into elbow side plank, DB in top hand, arm reached straight overhead; lift hips into pike while bringing DB underneath body
7. Remain in elbow side plank, still holding DB in top arm, arm raised straight to ceiling; lower DB to hip and raise back to ceiling
8. Lay on back, holding DB in both hands again; do bicycle legs while bringing DB from side to side with straight arms
9. This one is similar to #4 but this time you will roll up into straight leg boat pose
10. Kyaking: sit on bottom, knees bent, feet raised off floor, still holding DB in both hands; row DB side to side while remaining in this position (feet raised, torso leaned back slightly)
11. Get into straight arm plank; bringing right leg over left, tapping toe to ground; alternate sides
12. Last 30 seconds is child’s pose and cobra

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