Exercises that will tone your abs in just one month

Whether it's a tropical summer vacation or a night at the club with your besties, there are certain occasions where you just want to show a little skin. And while six-pack abs are never a prerequisite for rocking a teeny bikini or trendy crop top, there's also nothing wrong with getting your fitness on, in preparation for putting your tummy on full display. "The most important part of toning the abs is understanding how to access them," certified Pilates, Yoga and Nutrition Instructor Claudia Matles, told me in an interview. "And truly, the journey of 'getting there' is where the benefits are!"

Here are eight exercises to help you start transforming your abs in just 30 days.



Pilates double leg stretch

Connecting the breath with the body through specific movements is key for refining the abdominal area, according to Matles. That's why one of her favorite Pilates moves for toning the midsection, is the double leg stretch.

Start from a seated position on your mat with your legs bent and your feet under your knees. Extend your right leg up to the sky, while extending your left arm straight forward at shoulder height. Then do the same with your left leg and right arm by pressing your navel to your spine. "Imagine a ping pong ball at the inner center of your lower belly," said Matles. "Inhale through the nose, into the ball, exhale [and] shrink the ball, making it tiny toward the center of your belly button by lifting the pelvic floor, pressing navel to spine, and wrapping ribs and hips to the mid line at the core. This is the breath/body connection throughout these exercises which is part of what we call Contrology," she explained.

Exhale and hold pose by scooping out lower belly and creating the curve in back to maintain. Inhale, then exhale and roll down on your lower back, maintaining the architecture of the chest lifted toward knees throughout the exercise. Repeat (do two sets of 10).

"This exercise tones the transverse abdominal muscle, rectus abdominal muscle and obliques," said Matles. "You can modify by keeping head and chest on mat."


Pilates crisscross

The Pilates crisscross is another favorite exercise for Matles as it's a great way to practice that breath-body connection.

Lie on your mat with a neutral spine (your pelvis should not be tucked or tilted) legs bent, feet under your knees. Interlace fingers behind your head, shoulders soft and down, with wide elbows. "Connect with the ping pong [ball]," said Matles. "Exhale, curl your upper body off the mat leading from the center of the chest by shrinking the ping pong [ball]."

Inhale. Then exhale and extend your right leg as you rotate the center of chest over to the right (try to keep the elbows wide as you bring the left armpit toward your right knee). Inhale and return to center. Exhale and extend the left leg and rotate the torso to the left. Repeat (do two sets of 10).

"This exercise tones your obliques, transverse abdominal muscles, and rectus abdominal muscle," Matles told me. "You can always place a yoga block the long way on the floor to rest your feet on, if you'd like to modify."


Russian twist

When it comes to working those stubborn oblique muscles, celebrity trainer Jason Rosell, who's also the creator of the popular Caliente Fitness workout series, loves the Russian twist.

Starting from a seated position, raise your feet two inches from the floor. Interlock your hands together in front, and begin shifting your body left to right, touching the ground each time for 20 seconds. Want to bump up the intensity? Try holding on to a weighted medicine ball throughout the exercise.

Fitness expert Dempsey Marks, who created the PreGame Fit wellness plan, is also a big fan of this exercise. "Russian Twist is a fantastic full-core exercise that engages all of your ab muscles including your rectus abdominis, internal obliques, and external obliques," he told me via email. "It also helps strengthen your lower back."


Caliente kicks

Similar to the traditional bicycle kick crunches with a twist, Rosell's signature Caliente kicks are a perfect for working both your upper and lower abs.

"Lay flat on ground and with both hands, grab one ankle," explained Rosell. "Then switch to [the] other ankle and repeat this motion on [the] opposite side for a total of 20 seconds, followed by a 10-second rest. Repeat the same exercise for another 20 seconds until

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Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez: Strange things about their relationship

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez were two celebs no one saw getting together.

While Lopez frequently sings about passion, lust, and devotion, her personal love life hasn't been quite as melodic. A series of heartbreaks, broken engagements, and failed marriages would sour almost anyone to the mere thought of falling in love again. However, the dual-threat entertainer allowed cupid's arrow to strike her once again when she began a relationship with former New York Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez in February 2017.

Rodriguez confirmed he was smitten with Jenny from the block during a March 2017 appearance on The View. "We're having a great time. She's an amazing, amazing girl," he told the co-hosts of the daytime talk show.


The feeling is definitely mutual. As of this writing, the couple has taken their love bonanza to the airwaves and to various publications, continuously gushing about how infatuated they are with one another. But that doesn't mean we haven't noticed some peculiar details about their liaison. From Lopez using her music to send A-Rod messages to a cheating scandal that erupted just months after the pair went public with their romance, here are some of the strange things about Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez's relationship.



They go way back

The first time Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez came face to face, it wasn't love at first sight. In fact, the year was 2005, and Lopez was very much married to her then-husband, Latin crooner Marc Anthony, while Rodriguez was married to his then-wife, Cynthia Scurtis.

While attending a New York Yankees versus New York Mets game where Anthony was throwing out the first pitch, Lopez and Rodriguez met for the first time, and photographers even captured the exact moment when the destined lovers exchanged pleasantries with a friendly handshake. She and Anthony even posed for a picture with Rodriguez sandwiched in between them — awkward, though their relationship was strictly platonic at the time.

Twelve years later, the pair would go on their first real date. Lopez told Vanity Fair that she brought up their fated first meeting at the ballpark during their dinner conversation. "You don't have to say you remember if you don't," she told Rodriguez. "Shea Stadium, during a subway series," he responded.

This totally sounds like the makings of a blockbuster rom-com, doesn't it?


Hello, it's me, Jennifer

When Rodriguez was a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he was more than willing to take us for a walk down memory lane to discuss how he and Lopez reconnected after so many years.

The baseball icon told DeGeneres the it all started when he was out at lunch, and someone tapped him on the shoulder. "I turn around and I do not recognize this person and it's Jennifer, but she's dressed up as Harlee from Shades of Blue," he recalled of Lopez and her costume. "It took me about four or five seconds and she says 'It's Jennifer. It's Jennifer.' I go, 'Oh my god, Jennifer. You look so beautiful.'" Earth to Alex!

In his defense, Lopez told Vanity Fair that she was dressed like a "boy" that day, complete with an outfit consisting of Timberland boots, jeans, and a curly short hair 'do. So, we'll begrudgingly cut Rodriguez some slack.

After saying goodbye, he went home and contacted the songstress that same night and, as they say, the rest is history.


He was bold AF

For their first date, they met up at the Hotel Bel Air for dinner, but Rodriguez wasn't sure if it was a real date or just a casual meet-up between acquaintances. So he began blabbing to keep his nervousness at bay. "So he's talking, talking about his plans, about how he had just retired from baseball, about how he saw himself getting married again, all these things you wouldn't normally talk about on a first date," Lopez told Vanity Fair. "I don't know if he thought it was a date. I thought it was a date … He was nervous, and it was really cute."

It wasn't until later that evening when Lopez made an announcement that took Rodriguez by surprise. "She told me around the third or fourth inning that she was single," he said. "I had to get up and go re-adjust my thoughts."

After regaining his composure in the men's room, Rodriguez walked back to their table and shot Lopez a text that would change both of their lives. "It says… 'You look sexy AF,'" Lopez recalled. Um, yeah, we're sure his "thoughts" weren't the only things that needed to be re-adjusted at that exact moment, if you catch our drift.

That message, complete with a modern-day chat acronym, was the driving force that kicked their relationship up a notch. Some girls would've been completely turned off by such a brazen text message, but Lopez was obviously digging his bold digital flirtation.



She lets her songs do the talking

After teaming up with Skrillex and writer Poo Bear, Lopez was played "about 20 different songs." When she heard the words for the track "Us," her mind instantly thought of her beau. With lyrics such as, "Feelin' you go on and touch my love / Throwing it now, here you go, catch up / Could it be us?" she told Us Weekly, "When I heard this one I was like, 'Oh, this is relevant!' Alex and I were just getting to know each other. And I was like, 'Oh, my God, could this be? Could this be us?'"

Since things worked out in her favor, this entire story is a lot less cringey. But now that their relationship is headed in the right direction, Lopez dedicated a second track to the leading man in her life: the 2018 song "El Anillo," which translates to "the ring."

"We go to the studio and she says, 'I want you to read the paper,'" Rodriguez told told Jimmy Fallon about the first time he was made aware of the song. "And I go, 'Babe, it sounds like they're talking about us.' And she goes, 'Yeah, they made it for me.'"

Will Rodriguez get inspired by "El Anillo" and pop the question, or will he run for the hills? We'll find out soon enough.

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The Workout You Need to Do If You Sit All Day

Stretch and strengthen where you need it most.

It’s no surprise that sitting all day does some undesirable things to our bodies. Research has linkedexcessive sitting with an elevated risk for health conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Of course that doesn’t mean you’ll get heart disease just because you have a desk job—but sitting isn’t doing your body any favors.

Sitting all day can also impact us physically. Sitting for long periods of time, especially with poor posture, makes your hip flexors tight, which causes the glutes (butt muscles) to lengthen to compensate. Over time, this compromises the ability of the gluteal muscles to activate properly, leading to a condition called gluteal amnesia, AKA dead butt syndrome. When your glutes can't do their job, other muscles in your body have to work harder, which ultimately can overwork them, leading to poor body alignment and aches. Tight hip flexors also make it harder for your pelvis to rotate properly—inhibited mobility in this area can cause compression and pain in the lower back, physical therapist Dan Giordano, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., and co-founder of Bespoke Treatments Physical Therapy in New York City, tells SELF.

If you spend most of your time sitting, there is some good news. While it is true that sitting for most of the day isn’t healthy, there are some ways you can help undo the damage, Noam Tamir, C.S.C.S., founder of TS Fitness in New York City, tells SELF. For starters, Tamir recommends standing up for at least 30 to 40 minutes a day. “A standing desk is also a good option as it will help you become more aware of your posture and engage your core muscles,” he says.

In addition, doing certain exercises when you’re off the clock can also make a huge difference, especially ones that focus on strengthening the posterior (back) part of your body—like your back, glutes, and hamstrings—while stretching the anterior (front) muscles such as your hip flexors, pelvis, and chest. This helps counteract the tightness that ensues when you're in a seated position, plus strengthens the muscles that we need for good posture (read: to be strong enough to simply sit upright and stand up straight).

We asked Tamir to put together a great workout that can help undo some of the negative effects of sitting all day. “These exercises are designed to strengthen the core, work the posterior muscles of the body, engage the legs, and help with proper pelvic and spinal alignment,” he says. “Together, these moves help to offset the imbalances associated with long periods of sitting.”

So what are you waiting for? Hop up off your butt and try this routine STAT.

Repeat the below circuit three times.

Dead Bug — 20 reps, alternating

“This exercise focuses on the stabilizer muscles of the core such as the transverse abdominus,” explains Tamir. “So much of posture starts with the core and this move gives you feedback from the floor” on how to use these muscles properly so your body is aligned.

• Lie on your back with your arms at shoulder level raised toward the ceiling. Bring your legs up into tabletop position (knees bent 90 degrees and stacked over your hips).
• Slowly extend your right leg out straight, while simultaneously dropping your left arm overhead. Keep both a few inches from the ground.
• Bring your arm and leg back to the starting position.
• Repeat on the other side, extending your left leg and your right arm. That's one rep. Continue alternating for 20 reps total.

Plank — 30 seconds

“Here you’re working the full body, especially the core muscles,” says Tamir. “It’s important to focus on having good pelvic alignment and not rounding the back," he notes. Planks can help to both strengthen the core and improve pelvic orientation.

• Get on all fours with your toes on the ground shoulder-width apart. Place your forearms flat on the floor in front of you with your elbows directly below your shoulders.
• Keep your core tight so your body is in a straight line from head to toe.
• Squeeze your thighs and butt.
• Keep your neck and spine in a comfortable, neutral position. (Tip: Try aiming your chin about six inches in front of your body.)
• Hold for 30 seconds.

 Single-Leg Bridges — 12 reps each leg

“Single-leg bridges are great to help engage the gluteus maximus (the largest glute muscle) plus the core and hamstrings,” says Tamir. Keep these bridges slow and controlled. Focus on really using your glutes to do the movement.

• Lie flat on your back. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor about a foot or so away from your butt. Rest your arms at your sides on the floor.
• Lift your right leg in the air toward the ceiling, keeping your foot flexed.
• Push through your left foot to lift your glutes, hips, and back off the ground.
• Slowly lower back down, keeping your right leg in the air.
• Repeat for 12 reps, then switch legs

Kettlebell Deadlifts — 15 reps

"Deadlifts primarily work the glutes, hamstrings, core, lats, and traps,” says Tamir. Strengthening these posterior muscles helps to reverse the poor posture that tends to befall those of us who sit all day. “When performed correctly, without too much weight and keeping the back in a safe position, deadlifts are one of the most useful exercises to improve posture.”

• Stand with a kettlebell on the floor between your legs. (If you don't have a kettlebell, try one of these deadlift variations using dumbbells.)
• Keeping your back flat the entire time, hinge at your hips to push your butt back and bend slightly at the knees to pick up the kettlebell.
• Straighten your legs as you pull the kettlebell up to hip level, locking your hips out at top.
• Slowly lower the kettlebell back down to tap the floor, reversing the hip-hinge movement you used to pick up the kettlebell, then immediately repeat.
• Perform 15 reps.

Bent-Over Row — 15 reps each arm

“With this exercise, you’re working back and shoulder muscles including the rhomboids, traps, lats, and rear deltoids. You're even working the core because of the bent-over position,” explains Tamir. “A lot of posture flaws can be attributed to an imbalance of strength between the chest and the back, with the chest being more dominant. Rows can help balance that out.”

• Hold a dumbbell in your right hand. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees and hinge slightly at your hips so that your torso is leaning forward.
• Keeping your body in this position, row the dumbbell up to chest level, keeping your elbow toward your side.
• In a controlled motion, lower the dumbbell back down to the starting position.
• Repeat for 15 reps, then switch arms.

Goblet Squats — 15 reps

“This exercise primarily works the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core muscles,” explains Tamir. “When sitting for long periods of time, our hips tend to get tight because they are in a shortened position. Doing squats gets us to sit back in our hips, past the range of motion that we’re used to when sitting at a desk."

• Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Holding a kettlebell with both hands at your chest (you can also use a dumbbell).
• Bend at your knees and hips to lower your butt toward the ground, as if you're sitting in a chair.
• Go as low as you can, then push through heels to stand back up. Make sure your knees don't go past your ankles.
• Repeat for 15 reps.

Our model, Dayzondra Gonzalez, is wearing Splits59 Arrow Tight (bandier.com, $108), Puma Yogini Live Bra (puma.com, $20), and Hoka One One Hupana shoes (hokaoneone.com, $115).

From:Self 

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The real reason Scarlett divorced Ryan Reynolds

Remember when Ryan Reynolds was married to Scarlett Johansson for a blink of an eye? We almost forgot too. They began dating in 2007, tied the knot in 2008, and split in December 2010, and they were both so private and secretive about the whole thing that there's very little photographic evidence they were ever together at all. So what went wrong?



She may not have been ready for the commitment

After their divorce, Johansson hinted that she may not have known how to handle such a serious relationship. They got together when she was just 23 to Reynolds' 31. She explained to Glamour in 2014, "I feel I know now more of what I need in a relationship, what I want in a relationship. And I know I have more tools to communicate, not just with my partner, but with myself. That's not necessarily any reflection of who I was married to or what was happening in my marriage, but really where I was in my life." Considering Reynolds had jumped from a lengthy engagement with "You Oughta Know" singer Alanis Morisette into a romance with the Avengers star, he may have been too eager to pick up where his previous relationship left off, resulting in the new couple marrying before either person was truly ready.



 Their personalities clashed

Sources told InTouch that Johansson and Reynolds started as a case of opposites attract—and that in the end, they realized opposites are actually incompatible. "He's more traditional and she's more independent," an insider said (via the Daily Mail). "They're both strong-willed and stubborn people. There was a lack of warmth between them, that was troubling…He said it sounded like she was yelling at him every time she talked to him. When Scarlett visited Ryan on the set of The Proposal (2009), she was screaming at him in his trailer—going nuts."


He may have felt threatened by her success

In April 2016, Johansson hinted to Cosmopolitan that career competition with Reynolds may have played a role in their split. "The logistics of being with another actor are challenging," she said (via E! News). "There has to be a real understanding of how you share your time, especially when two people's careers are going at the same rate. Or even if one person is more successful than the other, that also proves challenging. There may be a competitive thing.

That echoes her sentiments a year earlier when she hinted to Parade that Reynolds' box office bombs may have played a role in their divorce. "Acting is a very strange world to be co-existing in," she said. "It's very volatile. There's always going to be the more successful person. It's related to rejection. Because actors, if they're not having success, connect it directly to unpopularity—to the fact that nobody wants them." She added, "[Marriage] takes a lot of work. It takes a man who's not only confident in the love that you have for one another, but confident in what he has going on in his own career. He has to be in a field that's completely different from yours." Ouch!



She's more private than he is

There are hardly any photographs of Johansson and Reynolds together. That seems to be more of Johansson's doing: you rarely really see her parading around in public with her paramours — not even her second husband, French journalist Romain Dauriac, whom she married in a secret ceremony in 2014 and divorced as quietly as possible in 2017.

You do see Reynolds working those PDA moments with his second wife, actress Blake Lively, and he basked in the limelight with ex Alanis Morissette as well.

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5 Haircuts That Will Replace the Lob in 2018

Whether or not you think following the "New Year, New You" mantra is cheesy, there's no better opportunity than the start of another year to break out of your hair rut by starting off fresh with a new cut.

If 2017 has taught us anything, it's that the lob isn't going anywhere—for good reason. The shoulder-grazing length is universally flattering for every face shape and a number of hair textures, too. But, if your relationship with your lob is starting to feel stale, there's a handful of cuts to consider that are about to become 2018's biggest hair trends.

A dramatic or subtle hair change is up to you, but the cuts we've been tracking on red carpethave all the bases covered. Katie Holmes's layered pixie, and Kerry Washington's blunt bob and bangs are just a few of the styles that you're going to see everywhere in the new year.

Blunt Bob With Bangs 

The natural progression of the lob is taking your length up an inch or two into a bob. If you want to change your look even more drastically, add a set of blunt bangs like Kerry Washington's full fringe. 

When you're at the salon, ask your stylist for blunt bob with a few long layers, and that your bangs be slightly layered and longer on the sides. If you're regularly reaching for your hot tools to get a flyaway-free finish like Washington's, treat your hair to a weekly repairing mask like Neutrogena's nourishing Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Mask ($6; target.com). 

Curtain Bangs 

We're calling it: Curtain bangs like Kirsten Dunst's are going to be to 2018 like side-swept bangs are to the early 2000's. Need to be convinced? The style is up 600 percent in search on Pinterest. If you're not ready to part with your current cut just yet, this versatile fringe style is a simple way to update your look. Don't let these retro bangs intimidate you: Since curtain bangs are parted down the center and longer to begin with, it'll be easier to avoid any awkward stages when you decide to grow them out. 

When you're styling curtain bangs, use a small round boar's bristle brush such as R+Co's Round Brush 2 ($80; randco.com) and flip the ends under and away from the face.

Grown-Out Shag 

The beginning of 2017 saw the return of the shag, and now it's all grown up going into the new year. Jessica Biel's long, shaggy layers with long, center-parted bangs that are blended into the rest of her layers proof that you can grow out the cut gracefully as an intentional style. 

Wrap a curling wand such as ghd's Curve Creative Curl Wand ($199; sephora.com) around one-inch strands of hair, and then tousle it allover for effortless, lived-in texture.

Lengthened Pixie 

A surprising number of celebs chopped their hair off into pixies—including Katie Holmes. Instead of following the other stars' leads with short, textured cuts, Holmes opted to keep some length on top for a few more styling options. 

For extra body, spritz a volume-boosting mist like Alterna Haircare's Anti-Aging Miracle Multiplying Volume Mist ($30; sephora.com) on your hair when it's damp and rough dry it before setting everything in place with a pomade.  

Cher Hair 

If you're looking for an intermission from of all of the '90s beauty trends that have made a comeback this past year, super-long Cher hair is your answer. The '70s-inspired hair length can be easily achieved by clipping in a set of extensions, but if you want to grow your hair out, don't skip on routine trims to keep split ends under control. 

Wearing your long, layered hair sleek like Kim Kardashian can cause heat damage. Before reaching for your hot tools, spray on a heat protectant like TRESemme's Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Leave In Spray ($4; target.com) for soft and smooth hair.

From:instyle

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How Much Are Lash Extensions? The Cost Is More Than We Thought

We live in an era where you can wake up with long, thick, voluminous lashes every single day without applying one swipe of mascara, committing to a growth serum, or sticking on a set of falsies, but it doesn't come cheap. So how much do lash extensions cost?

According to celebrity lash expert Clementina Richardson, founder of Envious Lashes, there's not one set cost, especially because it varies from city to city, but on average you're looking at anywhere from $150 to $550. 

Since it's truly a customizable experience, the total cost of your extensions depend on a few different variables. For starters, how skilled your stylist really is with her craft. 

RELATED: The Pros and Cons of Eyelash Extensions

"Since I’m a master stylist, and have over 11 years of experience, my prices are slightly higher than a junior stylist at our studios," Richardson says. And in Richardson's opinion, paying for the experienced stylist is worth maybe not buying your coffee out for a week.

"Lash Extensions are not one-size-fits-all and are a lot easier to mess up than they are to get right. If you go to an inexperienced lash stylist, chances are, you're going to end up with uneven, clumpy-looking lashes. Even worse, they can damage your natural lashes which can also prevent regrowth," she warns. 

"Do NOT go for the cheapest price," she continues. "Take the time to do your homework. Just like you would with a hairstylist, research who you want to go to and how long they’ve been in business. Make sure to look at their before-and-after photos, read reviews, and ensure the studio looks clean and safe upon arrival."

Then, the style you want, whether that's ultra long or voluminous and thick, makes a big impact on how much you're charging to your card. Generally, the more detailed look you want, the more expensive your bill will be.

RELATED: I Tried Eyelash Extensions: Here's What to Do, and What NOT to Do

While most lash specialists use synthetic eyelashes, mink and silk lashes are available at certain salons, and they do have the potential to be slightly more expensive. 

Then, there's the maintenance fees. "The most common add-on service for lash artists is cleaning off makeup or unclean lashes," Lindsay Ford, the marketing manager of Bella Lash, says. "A lash artist normally charges their time to clean your lashes, as they cannot apply extensions to dirty or makeup-covered lashes."

Lashes generally have to be touched up every two to three weeks, and at Richardson's salon, a touch-up appointment costs around $75 to $150. 

Because the total cost is so based on your customized experience, Richardson suggests budgeting between $170 to $250 a month for lash extensions.  

Eyelash extensions might be convenient, but they're not exactly affordable. If you don't like the idea of spending an upwards of $100 on your eyelashes every month, maybe stick to that tube of mascara.

From:instyle

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