Posts Tagged ‘Abdominal Crunch’
Abdominal Exercise Equipment
As you know, there are many options when doing abdominal exercises. I’d like to point out a piece of abdominal exercise equipment being used wrong in the gym. That abdominal exercise equipment is the abdominal crunch machine. This piece of equipment targets the middle and upper part of the abdominal area.
When I see people work on this machine, I do chuckle to myself when I see them use the handles and pull on them to perform their “crunch”. They usually use a high amount of weight. Not once do I see that they have contracted their abs as they crunch.
Ok, there are a few things going on here that I need to explain. The first, is that a lot of weight for an abdominal crunch will build up the muscle. The abdominal area is an area where you want to tone the muscles and build to a point, but not bulk them up. So you’d want to do more repetitions with lower amount of weight.
Secondly, and the most obvious of issues, is that the movement initiates and comes from the core, not from using the upper body to pull the weight down! You’ll want to sit up tall, pull the navel into your spine and as you exhale, contract the abdominals and execute your crunch. It is called the Abdominal Crunch Machine for a reason. All the movement and power comes from the core and NOT from pulling on the handles or upper body.
Be mindful about the abdominal exercise equipment you use and execute your movement with proper form. You will see results a lot quicker when you do!
I teach this great Body Sculpt class weekly. Today after we did an abdominal exercise using the stability ball, I made a comment about lengthening the levers (arms/legs)makes an abdominal exercise more intense. I also added a comment about the basic crunch. When I was done explaining it, everyone learned how to get more from a basic crunch. Now I’m going to share this little tidbit for you.
When you get in a basic crunch position, hands behind head, knees bent. As you bring your head neck and shoulders off the mat, simultaneously do a pelvic tilt up. Think of it like bringing the ribs to meet the hip bone. By tilting the pelvic bones up, it also ensures that the low back stays into the mat. Not only that, you will use the entire abdominal range, incorporating the lower, mid and upper areas of the abs.
Wherever you are, and whenever you do a basic crunch, include the pelvic tilt and you’ll be working the entire abdominal area. Here’s another great abdominal exercise from Fitness From the Pro!
Yesterday, I mentioned we would talk about good form when it comes to the basic abdominal crunch for a flat stomach. As promised, here are a couple of things to remember.
The one and most important thing: Keep the low back into the mat!!! We all have a tendency to arch the back. As soon as that arch takes place you release the abdominals. Think of it this way, when you are laying on your back and you crunch up, concentrate on bringing the ribs to meet the hips. The low back automatically sinks into the mat. Plus you get a little more bang, by tilting the hips up, you are working the full range of the abs.
A second thing to remember: Don’t pull on your head! With our hands behind our head there is a tendency to pull the head up to ease the crunch. This is incredibly bad for the cervical spine. Instead, gently/lightly place your finger tips by your ears and lift.
Another thing to concentrate on is: Keep a fist distance between the chin and chest! Place one of your fists under your chin to get a feel for where that distance is. Or get an
orange, place it under your chin and do a crunch that way.
Finally, I see some folks who want to make the abdominal crunch harder, by lengthening the levers. They have both arms extended over head, which is fine except, they use their arms as momentum to help lift the upper body off the floor. This is called Angular Momentum. You are transferring the real work your abs should be doing, to the swinging the arms. Instead, control the upper body from your abs as you lift with arms extended.
Always remember, GOOD FORM IS EVERYTHING for all exercises, even for a flat stomach!
Abdominal Exercises in the Water
Have you ever thought about doing some abdominal exercises in the water? Sometimes this is the perfect place to start training your abs when the abdominal muscles are weak. You will need equipment for flotation like the noodle or aqua dumbbells. I think the noodle would be easier, because you can place it around your back under your armpits.
Basic Abdominal Crunch (with noodle):
- Lay on your back (supine) and extend your legs out in front.
- Pull your navel into your spine.
- Keep the legs together and pull your knees to your chest.
- Exhale as you are pulling your legs toward you.
- Be mindful of keeping your shins parallel to the pool floor.
- Inhale and extend the legs out.
- Repeat about 15-20 times.
Oblique Twist (with noodle) and Crunch:
- Execute the Abdominal Crunch, except keep the knees into your chest.
- Roll the knees from side to side, in this tight position.
- To add on, hold knees to one side, and do a little side crunch, bringing your chest to your knees and exhale.
- This is a small move.
- Do about 10-12 repetitions on one side, then do the other side.
Abdominal exercises in the water is a great place to begin if you have weaker abs!