Women's Workout - Part 2

On any crunch, we are trying to target the rectus abdominus. We all want this muscle well developed so we can have that elusive six-pack. Am I right? Well, let's remember the primary role of the abs: spinal flexion. For the abs to contract to it's full-stop, at the limit, tightest squeeze, you want it to flex the related joints to the full range of motion. The abs are responsible for the concentric flexion of the spine- we already know that. The question is whether or not you are achieving complete range of motion with your chin up.

I agree that in many exercises, posture is important. But in the ball crunch, keeping you chin towards the ceiling makes more of a disservice to your efforts even though it looks "correct."

The neck is the top portion of the spine-- also known as most of the cervical spine. What happens in your neck has a strong influence on what happens with the rest of the spine. In this exercise, keeping your head pointed straight up prevents complete flexion at the other end (the thoracic spine). When you're doing a ball crunch exercise, try this instead:

Position yourself just like the demonstration in the video. Next, drop your chin into your chest, keeping your eyes on your navel. Now, don't strain your neck! Although a lot of people could benefit from strengthening the neck, this is an abdominal exercise. Next, make sure your position supports your middle back with the top of your glutes just off the ball. The next part is important! Imagine a folding point in your crunch. Most people make the mistake of trying to "fold" their body too low on the spine. What this causes is too much hip flexor engagement and results in those hundred rep sets that don't really do anything for you- not even a burn. What you should try is to imagine yourself folding a lot higher on the spine. That fold point should be right on the bottom of your rib cage. While folding, don't let your butt drop! Engage your glutes if you have to but be sure that the ball is not rolling and that only the top portion of your body is moving.

Also, remember that our mobility in the spine is due to a series of joints with limited range of motion. The different vertebrae each contribute a little bit of range to allow our spine to flex. So the last thing you need to remember in the crunch is that you want to roll and unroll your spine for effective abdominal engagement in the crunch (but keep an open and relaxed hip flexor!). A complete abdominal engagement is simply not reaching full contraction unless you allow your spine to reach full flexion. If you keep your head up, you're not getting full flexion.

Try the ball crunch this way. If you're doing it right (slow controlled reps), you will notice shakiness right in the first rep. THIS will get you results, baby!

PJ - Master-Pro Trainer, Spectrum Thousand Oaks, NASM, NCEP

ladies are lookin great! keep it up!

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Priming your body before a workout [Warmup]: http://www.myfittribe.com/forums/best-ways-prevent-treat-post-work-out-s...