All I want for Christmas...

... are abs like Greg Barton. Well, so the latest Canoe & Kayak Buyers Guide for 2008 promised me I could have. I figure, with core muscles like his, I'll smoke the competition in next year's Everglades Challenge. (And the magazine also promised great apres-paddle results too!)

So on Monday, after a few weeks (read: nearly a month) of inactivity due to a few jollies to Florida and NZ, I started Greg's eight stomach-crunch exercise program. Apparently the difference between Greg and we mere mortals is that he does each of his eight crunches for 60 seconds, and we do them for only 30 seconds. Well, I'll have to report that I'm still at the mere mortal level, after another session this morning.

But it must be doing something, because when I walk around the office or sneeze, I swear I can feel every individual core muscle.

So in the interest of sharing the pain, here we go - 60 seconds each, no stopping between changeovers...

1. Lay flat on the floor with legs slightly bent, and crunch your stomach to 30 degrees.
2. Lift your knees to your chest and touch elbows with each rep.
3. Now lift your legs in the air so your body forms an "L" and point your hands forward, palms-down just off the ground. Keep crunching!
4. Keep your legs in the air and put your hands behind your head. Bring your legs up to meet your elbows with every crunch.
5. Now bend your knees and continue crunching in a bicycle motion, twisting so you bring your opposite knee to your elbow with each crunch.
6. Lay on your back with one foot flat on the floor close to your buttocks. Cross the other leg on your knee. Twist while crunching so your elbow touches your crossing knee.
7. Repeat with your other leg crossed.
8. Back to the "L" position with hands extended, and flutter kick while you crunch, touching your toes with the opposite hand each time.

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