Expert tummy trimmers...TenPilates tested!

The Pilates instructor expert David Higgins, co-founder of TenPilates

The strategy: TenPilates, from £25 per single class (£12.50 for your first one).

Where to find it: Studio 2 & 3, Pall Mall Deposit, 124-128 Barlby Road, London W10 6BL (020 8969 9677). For Pilates classes in your area, call 020 7033 0078 or visit www.pilatesfoundation.com.

The low-down: the TenPilates system combines the deep stretches of Pilates with circuit, weight and balance training. It's great for toning post-pregnancy, after weight loss, injury or back pain - the most common side-effect of a pot belly. Pilates strengthens the core muscles that encircle your middle. The transverse abdominus allows hips to rotate freely - cough and you'll feel it tense. The erectus abdominus - or six pack - keeps the front washboard taut, the obliques support the sides and the spinus erectus holds the back straight. The core is vital to posture, breathing and flexibility - if it's not fully engaged the hips slip out of true, the stomach pops out and the spine is prone to injury.

[quote]Most of us are slouchers, says Higgins. But once our awareness is restored and we activate our core, we're on the way to
a leaner, taller posture and a tighter tum. ‘It's difficult at first,' he admits. ‘Weak muscles fatigue quickly. But the more you train them, the easier  it becomes.' Can you drop a dress size? Increase your exercise, cut out carbs after 5pm, drink three litres of water daily - and watch the weight fall off, Higgins says. Do the following exercise for 5-10 minutes a day and you'll see results in six weeks.

Try this... First timers can usually manage 5-10 seconds' worth of these scissor kicks. Aim to build up to a minute:

1 Lie on your back, then breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth as you tense your core muscles.

2 Raise both legs to 90°, then lower slowly to 45° from the floor.

3 Extend arms in front and raise your shoulders - your lower back and hips should stay flat on the floor. At the same time, move legs up and down alternately, like swimming kicks.

4 Check your breathing - in for four kicks, out for four. To work muscles harder, hold weights or litre bottles out in front of you.

Five top tummy toners

● Crunch charcoal tablets: they absorb gases in the large intestine - created by toxins and bacteria - that cause bloating. In time, the large intestine shrinks and your tum deflates. Take two to three tablets, three times daily.

● Stand up straight: it's basic - and it takes 5lb off you. Alexander Technique practitioners say slouching causes the stomach to pop out of the pelvic basin and stick out. Learn how to relocate it in two sessions, and attain perfect posture in 15. Find a teacher at www.stat.org.uk.

● Don't fast: your body reacts by upping levels of the stress hormone cortisol and storing calories as fat around your middle.

● Walk it off: or run, or swim. Reducing body fat levels will help trim your tum.

● Laugh it off: a good belly laugh strengthens the deep-seated muscle crucial to a six-pack stomach.

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