Crunches

how should be properly done

 

its odd since, sometimes i do them, then my stomach will start to hurt at about 80reps, then somedays it wont hurt at all, which must mean that i am doing them wrong,

 

i have knee problem so i cant bend it all the way, but that doesnt really restrict in how they perform them,

 

i do the crunches by having both hands behind my neck, titled upwards so that they are parell with the side of your face when looking up like this : lol , with the arms being the l's and the head being the 'o',

 

then i have both feet crossed and in the air, and the knees are quite close to the body, then i lift my head up, briging partially up upper body up and look down straight under my knees , near my crotch and stomach then come back down again with my head touching the floor, - that is one,

 

but is that correct,

 

i have seen them done differently, or should i jus stick with press-ups , i dont have a back problem

 

-ad

 

 

Its better to concentrate on your hip and legs muscles.

 

 

Who says??? I disagree with you "AO"!

 

Developing strong abs also helps you perform better as a martial artist. It improves pelvic rotations, which is important for improving your balance and helping you to achieve more powerful punches and kicks..... just as much as those leg and hip muscles.

 

Ad was asking a question specifically about ab work and the proper way to do them and I will attempt to offer some suggestions.

 

Crunches can't do it all. Think about it: You wouldn't limit yourself to doing just lunges for your legs or just push-ups for your arms, right? You need to mix in other moves. You need to do exercises that work all the muscles in your abs (the rectus abdominis and obliques) from different angles. There are three so-called "planes of motion." When you bend forward, you work the sagittal plane. Bend to the side and you target the frontal plane. Twist your torso and you hit the transverse plane. A basic crunch only works your muscles through one plane of motion — sagittal — which is why you can do them forever and only see a third of the results. Of course, don't give up on crunches. Incorporate moves that hit the other two angles of your abs.

 

This is one crunch exercise I do with my class that incorporates a little pilates because breathing and tightening those abs really works the muscles!

 

Feet up, ankles crossed....hands behind head at base of neck pressed lightly. Elbows out parallel to shoulders. Be sure not to grab at your neck when crunching, let the abs lift you up.

 

Take a deep breath. Crunch up slowly to center...twist to the right (exhale) bringing right elbow to floor keeping left back parallel to turned shoulders. Come back to center taking deep breath.....twist to left (exhale) , left elbow to floor this time. Come back to center...taking deep breath and pulse up the crunch a bit higher....the exhale coming back down.

 

You need to vary your moves every few weeks. The longer you stick with an exercise, he more efficient your body becomes at doing it. You end up using less energy and won't get optimal results. Research shows muscles can adapt in as few as four to five workouts.

 

Just tweak your moves. For example, instead of placing your hands by your ears when you do crunches, try extending your arms in front of you. Or do oblique twists on an incline bench rather than the floor.

 

Exercising while holding a weighted ball or dumbbell is another way to switch things around. Use enough weight so that you can't do more than 15 to 20 reps at a time (doing several sets is fine). Studies show that people who do more than this amount don't use enough resistance to tone their muscles effectively .

 

Crunches develop those core muscles. Focus on always keeping your abdominals tight. Not only do conditioned abs help support the torso, particular the lower back, but they also tighten and flatten the stomach.

 

 

Try doing them going up to take 1 or 2 seconds, then take 8 seconds to slowly go down. If you dont want to do loads of these, just do a few to get the burn starting, then revert to the normal ones.

My abs routine is this

 

8 Reverse Crunches

 

8 Crunches

 

8 Crunch Twists

 

8 Side V-ups (8 on each side)

 

8 Reverse Trunk Twists

 

I do movements straight after another, using 3 "supersets"

 

Every week, I up the amount of reps by 2, when a plateau is reached, I keep the same or lower amount of reps for that week. If that fails, which it hasn't yet, I'll start using a different abs routine for a few months before returning to this.

 

The above 5 exercises work all your abdominal/oblique muscles from all 3 planes. It doesnt take too long and its pretty damn effective!

 

of course, in my week off fashion, I'm sitting here with a large bar of Cadbury's Fruit and nut... cheerio!

Yo KickKick - great advice there from you!

 

I'd recommend trying the swiss ball too - core strength is vital.

 

Try using machines too - ab cruncher, cable pulley etc.

 

Works for me - I'm definately NOT genetically predisposed to having a 6 pack - I can put fat on just by walking past a pie shop LOL!, BUT - with training I too have become guardian of the sacred 6 Pack

 

 

 

 

thnx for the advice

 

but i find the curling ones slightly awkward, since when i do curl, i come of balance and fall over to my side

I sugest looking at Pilates exercises as these will strengthen the lower and deeper lying lower body muscles. You can work the front and side abbs as much as you like but the real strengthen comes from these deeper lying muscles . You will gain better posture, better alingment, and greater core stability. I invested in a book and video 6 months ago and have really noticed a difference. I now balance my core rotine with Pilates and crunches. But don" t forget if you are doing crunches you must balance them with Back extensions. You need to work opposite muscle groups in order to maintain good balance.

... couldn't agree more steveking! I too have started to incorporate some pilates into my classes. (I used "Pilates for Dummies")... then modified some of the moves to make them more challenging for my class (I love to hear them groan when they do crunches!!)

 

There are some awesome core muscle workout exercises out there and they are very beneficial to us martial artists and to anyone who experiences any type of back problems!