Abdominal strength training. These all have great pictures but I cannot figure out how to upload them!
- abdominal crunch with feet on the wall and arms folded
Lay flat on your back with your arms folder across your chest and place your feet on the wall. With this exercise you are going to crunch your shoulders straight up towards the ceiling. Your shoulders should only be a couple of inches off of the mat when this exercise is completed. Hold it for a second and then go back to the starting position and repeat. It is important to crunch up towards the ceiling keeping your back as straight as possible. You do not want to roll your back like you are reaching towards your knees.
- abdominal crunch with feet on the floor
Lay flat on your back with your arms pointed straight up and feet flat on the floor. On this exercise you are going to crunch straight up towards the ceiling. Your shoulders should only be a couple of inches off of the mat when this exercise is completed. Hold it for a second and then go back to the starting position and repeat. It is important to crunch up towards the ceiling keeping your back as straight as possible. You do not want to roll your back like you are reaching towards your knees.
- abdominal ball crunch
Start off sitting on the ball. Slowly lower your upper body down until the small (lower curve) of your back is in the middle of the ball. Here you will be lying parallel to the floor. Once you are here you have reached the starting position. On this exercise you are going to crunch straight up towards the ceiling. Your shoulders should only be a couple of inches off of the ball when this exercise is completed. Hold it for a second and then go back to the starting position and repeat. It is important to crunch up towards the ceiling keeping your back as straight as possible. You do not want to roll your back like you are reaching towards your knees
- hanging leg raise
This is an advanced abdominal movement and should not be tried by a beginner. Step up on a box so that you can put your arms in the slings. You want the slings to fit snugly on the bottom of your arms close to your armpits. This exercise will usually cause some discomfort to the bottoms of your arms at first but with time you will get used to it. Now that you are firmly in the slings you will very easily step off of the box so you are hanging in mid-air. Now you will raise your knees straight up until they have reached a ninety-degree angle. Slowly lower your legs back down and repeat. For a more advanced movement try doing it with your legs straight instead of bent. It is also helpful to have someone support your lower back when doing this exercise so you don't swing your body.
- decline sit ups
Place feet and lower legs so that they are firmly supported with the bend in the bench right behind your knees. On this exercise you do not want to lay all the way down but stop your upper body when it is parallel to the floor and then proceed back to the starting position.
- half V-sit ups
Sit about half way onto a flat bench with your hands holding onto it right behind your butt. Here you will extend your legs so they are completely straight and then bring them back into your chest. Your upper body will also move slightly forward and backward.
- full V-sit ups
This is done in the same manner that the half v-sit was done except now you are not holding onto the bench with your hands. You will pivot on your butt to an almost lying position and then proceed back to the starting position with your knees towards your chest.
- leg raises
Lay flat on your back and grab onto something firmly above your head that will not move. Here you will raise you're your legs so that they are finishing at a 90 degree angle to your body.
- pelvic pops
Start with your feet at a 90-degree angle to your body. Here you are going to raise your hips only several inches off of the floor.
- ab roller crunch
Place your head on the supportive pad with your legs bent and on the floor. These can be done with the feet off of the floor and there are various different exercises you can do here. Here you are going to crunch up towards the ceiling raising your shoulders only a couple of inches off of the mat.
- ab roller oblique crunch
This is done similar to the regular crunch except now you are turning your lower body so that only your lower body is on its side while your upper body remains flat on the ground. Only crunch a couple of inches off of the ground towards the ceiling
- russian twists
This is an extremely advanced exercise and should not be done if you are a beginner or are experiencing any low back pain. Place your feet under something that will not move. Grab an extremely lightweight (never go real heavy no matter how advanced you are) and hold it over your chest like it is a steering wheel. You will pivot on your butt and turn as far as you comfortably can to the left and then to the right. This is a tough one.
- decline leg raises
Lay with your feet at the lower end of a decline board and then grab onto the top with both arms. Extend your legs straight and raise them up towards your head as far as you can. You could also finish this exercise with a pelvic pop to get more bang for your buck.
Make it burn!!! Have fun!
