Six out of 10 people who write in to me are concerned about one thing: how to reduce their waistlines and develop strong abdominal muscles. As often mentioned in this column, there is no simple sure-shot exercise that will take the flab off your middle and transform you into a Greek God with a six-pack. It takes a combination of cardio-vascular and strength training exercises with a proper diet. You can't just do a bunch of crunches or sit-ups and expect to get a flat tummy. But yes, doing crunches or sit-ups helps in toning and strengthening the abdominal muscles.

While the basic abdominal crunch may be a familiar (albeit tough) exercise, it can be modified and tweaked to be more effective, isolating the impact of the exercise on the muscles targeted. As you may expect, there are several variations of the basic crunch, probably as many or more than the number of fitness experts. Of the several that I've been shown over the years at various gyms in different cities, here's the one that I like best. It's a weighted crunch (some call it the Sicilian variation, although it has nothing to do with chess and even less the Mafia). The illustration shows you what to do but here goes: Lie on your back with knees bent (you could place a rolled up towel under your lower back for support) and feet held firm under a couple of heavy dumb-bells to keep them from sliding; hold a lighter dumb-bell or a weight-plate in both your hands across your chest. That's the starting position. Now, crunch your rib cage towards your pelvis as far as it can go. At the end of that movement, straighten your arms lifting the dumb-bell above your head. Hold and then slowly get back to the starting position. Try to choose a weight that allows you to do at least five repetitions. That's one set. Do three. Caveat: it's very, very tough. But also, very, very effective!

-Muscles Mani
write to musclesmani@intoday.com

DON'T SLEEP OVER IT

If you're having trouble getting a good night's sleep, don't be complacent. It could be insomnia, a condition that affects your productivity and quality of life. Worse, it could be symptomatic of a hidden psychiatric or physical disorder such as depression or schizophrenia. Here's the lowdown:

Causes: Health problems such as cancer or asthma, or emotional distress as in job loss, or the death of a near one. Says

Dr. Monica Chib, Senior Consultant (Psychiatry), Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals: "Consumption of alcohol, and irregular meal and bed timings can aggravate the disorder."

Treatment: Adopt a healthy lifestyle, and do regular exercise. Else, mild tranquillisers, homoeopathy, acupuncture, even hypnotics may help. Says Dr. Rajat Ray, HOD (Psychiatry), AIIMS: "There are certain brain areas that are responsible for inducing sleep; hypnotics work on these areas and activate them." Whatever you do, don't pop those sleeping pills. They're addictive.

-Indrani Rajkhowa