A Few Abs Exercises

[Natasha]

Hi Laura and everyone else,

Here are a few abs exercises as discussed on the thread about whether your SO is into fitness. I hope these make sense! Sorry I couldn t scan the pictures http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif They re selected exercises from an article in Fitness magazine, Feb. 1999 issue. I also do some others from Shape magazine that I will hopefully be able to add later today.

If anyone has any other exercises that they find more effective, or any feedback on the exercises listed below (positive or negative), I would be very interested in hearing about it. As I said on the other thread, all I do on any kind of regular basis are crunches. I do each of the other exercises only very periodically http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/redface.gif , so I don t know which ones are the best.

High-Step
Stand with feet roughly shoulder-width apart. This move targets the hard-to-reach lower abdominal region. Stand with your arms bent at waist level. Contract your abdominals, shift your weight to your left leg and lift your right knee to hip level. From here, slowly pulse your knee up 10 times (keep your torso straight; don t lean forward). Lower your foot to the floor and repeat the move with your left knee.

Alternate Elbow-Knee Touch
Stand with feet roughly shoulder-width apart. Place your left hand behind your head. Lift your right knee while simultaneously bringing your left elbow across your body to meet it. Contract your abs as you touch your elbow to your knee. Hold for one count and return to the starting position. Do all repetitions on one side before switching to the other (right elbow to left knee).

Side Bend
Stand with feet roughly shoulder-width apart. Clasp hands behind your head. Keep your head up (don t tuck chin to chest); slowly bend to the left as far as you can. Your hips should be stable as you bring your left elbow toward your thigh. Feel the contraction in your obliques; slowly return to the starting position. Pause; repeat on your right.

So why am I sitting here? I m starting to feel guilty. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif



[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 01-13-2001).]

[Laura]

Thanks Natasha. I am going to the gym while my daughter goes to ballet (son is at a friends house) so I will print these off and take them along. Right now my only gym is the fitness center where I live but when I belonged to a real gym they had this bar that had some arm restraints and you could do knee raises while hanging. That really worked my lower abs like nothing else. I'll let you know how these go.

[Mary Ann]

I think the best advice I've gotten regarding crunches came from my Jazzercise instructor. To get people to understand the idea of contracting your abs to crunch, rather than pulling up on your head and neck, she says to imagine you're lying on the floor and your have 27 pre-schoolers jumping over your belly and you're sure one of them is going to fall on you. Not only does this work for me, because it makes me check my technique, but it makes me smile while I'm doing crunches.