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CrunchCRUNCH Taken from Dave Draper's book, Brother Iron, Sister Steel Lie face up on your favorite bench or piece of floor, knees bent and feet tightly toward you, shoulder-width apart. Position your arms behind your head and cradle your head in your hands. From this stable starting place, with a minimum of tugging on your head, roll your upper torso forward into a C-like posture, your upper back raising off the floor as the abdominals contract to complete the movement. Think abs. This contraction should be split-second yet super tight — the peak of muscle overload and adaptation. Slowly lower yourself to a full and deliberate starting position and repeat for sets of multiple reps. A weight plate can be held behind the head or across the chest to add resistance; lower the reps. Right and left obliques and intercostals are recruited as we slightly twist and lead with the right or left elbow as if reaching for the space between the knees. Mix them up, for example twenty to the front, ten left, ten right, ten front totaling one set. Getting warm, oxygenized and movin’— I call this the “super crunch.” Crunches tone and strengthen the entire abdominal area with an apparent emphasis on the upper region. They provide maximum muscle action with minimum expended energy. Mild crunches are a therapeutic exercise and safe on the lower back, a good introductory exercise for the willing and able obese, elderly, injured or beginner. Good stuff. Last edited by . Contributors: |