When someone performs a crunch poorly, I shed a tear. Well maybe not, but I do get upset.
You may have seen “that” person who walks into a gym, a little lost, a little bamboozled but with every intention of getting in shape and getting those six-pack abs.
Armed with knowledge learned from long-ago high school gym teachers, they grab a mat, lie down and start yanking their necks up and down like they’re having some kind of seizure.
Please call 911.
According to Men’s Health it takes almost 22,000 basic abdominal crunches to burn a pound of fat from your mid-section. Don’t know about you, but who has time for that? The correct answer is not you!
There are far more effective ways to get more bang for your core. Start with these moves for a core that means business.
And please leave the crunches for the monkeys.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tBOcFT1oTQ&w=560&h=315]Deadbugs
1. Deadbugs
The muscles of your mid-section that you can’t see are equally or more important than the muscles that you can see. The Deadbug works both without yanking your neck.
Incorporate this into your warm up doing one to two sets of six to eight reps on each side.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbemelnkHag&w=560&h=315]
2. Kneeling med ball rollout
The mid-section is so much more than just your six-pack. Believe it or not, it involves all the muscles from shoulders to hips. This exercise works every single one of them and more. Try it at your own risk.
Do this at the beginning or the end of your training. Do one to two sets of four to six reps for a good time.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BypaarZLnfw&w=560&h=315]
3. Half kneeling Pallof press
If you want your core to get stronger, you need to work with resistance. The Pallof press does this and so much more. The half kneeling stance works on your hip mobility and dynamic stability in one fell swoop.
Do this at the beginning of your training, doing one to two sets of 30 seconds on each side.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmoZPkjzhQ4&w=560&h=315]
4. Medicine ball squat toss
More often than not our mid-section has to work dynamically and powerfully so we can run, jump, bend, twist and throw. It’s not just for looks, it must function as well.
The squat toss helps with this, plus you’ll be the coolest person at the gym. Do two to three sets of 6 to 12 explosive repetitions.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7fJAWO6Q2U&w=560&h=315]
Wrapping up
These exercises will have you dominating and turning heads inside the gym. Now get after it, have fun and smile and sweat.
Leave a Reply