Your shoulders should stay off the mat, while your lower back should stay pressed to the mat. Keep your arms lifted overhead while lowering your legs back to the ground.Lift your upper back as you try to reach your hands to touch your feet.Lift your arms and legs, so they are extended up towards the ceiling.Alternate this twist to the other side and repeat.Ī toe tap crunch adds an extra level to the traditional crunch by targeting the upper and lower abs.As one knee comes up, rotate your abdomen to try to touch your opposite elbow to that knee.Bring one knee towards your armpit while straightening the other leg. Begin the movement similar to pedaling a bicycle.Keep your hands behind your head and lift your feet off the floor while raising your knees to a 90-degree angle.Engage your core muscles, drawing in your ab muscles and stabilizing your spine.Your lower back should be flush with the ground, and your hands should be behind your head. Lie flat on the ground with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.Overall, sit-ups are best if you'd like to work more than your abs alone and if you don't have any back, neck, or spine problems that may be aggravated by the exercise.īicycle crunches can really get you to feel the burn in your abs. "This is because thinner columns have less stress when bending." "Those people with very heavy skeletons will break into back pain sooner doing sit-ups than those with thinner, more flexible spines," McGill says. Some people have a slender spinal column, and others have a thick spinal column where the vertebrae are simply larger - for example, think of a gymnast versus a linebacker. Your risk for injury depends on your body type and medical history, according to Stuart McGill, an expert in lower back disorders and professor emeritus in the department of kinesiology at the University of Waterloo. And because sit-ups also work your hip flexors, these muscles can become tight, pulling on your lower spine and possibly causing lower back pain. However, sit-ups may risk potential injury to your back, because the move pushes your curved spine against the floor, which puts extra pressure on your spine. Sit-ups also work your hip flexors, the muscles that run from your thighs to your lower back. ![]() The move is particularly effective at engaging the rectus abdominis, the muscle that runs vertically along the front of your torso. ![]() That modification will engage more of your obliques, says Parolini. (see image above) Come down onto your elbows in a regular plank and crunch your knee out to the side. From a side plank position, drive the knee that’s on top toward your elbow. A sit-up is an abdominal exercise that strengthens the muscles in your core - and beyond. Engage your obliques by turning your plank into a side plank, either on your hand or elbow.
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