Crunches
Dallas Personal Trainer - This is a classic exercise used by Personal Trainers everywhere and is one of the most basic and essential abdominal exercises that should be included somewhere in nearly every personal training routine.
Lie on the ground on your back, tuck your knees up, lift your feet, and cross you ankles. If you cannot comfortably rest your legs in this tucked position without effort, then simply bend your knees and set both feet on the ground as you would for Sit-Ups.
Put your hands behind your head, but make sure that you don't use them to pull on your head when you crunch up. Once you are set, simply crunch your torso forward (pull your ribcage toward your pelvis), by contracting your abs intensely. Once you have crunch as tightly as possible, lower yourself back to the starting position smoothly and under the tight control of you abs. Make sure to get a full range of motion by going as low as is possible without letting the abs relax at all. They should be tight and in control of your movement at all times.
When you get strong enough to do more crunches than is prescribed by your workout program, start holding a weight plate or dumbbell behind your head as you do them. As you get stronger, continue to increase the weight just as you would on any other exercise.
In order to increase the range of motion, these can be performed on the edge of a bench as shown in the 2nd video below. This allows you to lower your torso further at the bottom without allowing your abs to relax. You may perform them this way, or on the floor as shown in the first video. Either way is acceptable, so simply choose the one that you prefer. If you like both, feel free to alternate between the two.
As always, we do not recommend performing any exercise without the supervision of a highly qualified Dallas personal trainer. This exercise description is for informational purposes only. Consult your doctor before attempting any workout program or attempting this exercise or any other exercise on this website.
Lie on the ground on your back, tuck your knees up, lift your feet, and cross you ankles. If you cannot comfortably rest your legs in this tucked position without effort, then simply bend your knees and set both feet on the ground as you would for Sit-Ups.
Put your hands behind your head, but make sure that you don't use them to pull on your head when you crunch up. Once you are set, simply crunch your torso forward (pull your ribcage toward your pelvis), by contracting your abs intensely. Once you have crunch as tightly as possible, lower yourself back to the starting position smoothly and under the tight control of you abs. Make sure to get a full range of motion by going as low as is possible without letting the abs relax at all. They should be tight and in control of your movement at all times.
When you get strong enough to do more crunches than is prescribed by your workout program, start holding a weight plate or dumbbell behind your head as you do them. As you get stronger, continue to increase the weight just as you would on any other exercise.
In order to increase the range of motion, these can be performed on the edge of a bench as shown in the 2nd video below. This allows you to lower your torso further at the bottom without allowing your abs to relax. You may perform them this way, or on the floor as shown in the first video. Either way is acceptable, so simply choose the one that you prefer. If you like both, feel free to alternate between the two.
As always, we do not recommend performing any exercise without the supervision of a highly qualified Dallas personal trainer. This exercise description is for informational purposes only. Consult your doctor before attempting any workout program or attempting this exercise or any other exercise on this website.