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Having a
strong mid-section can alleviate lower back stress that
can result from being sedentary.
It’s not
necessary to perform thousands -- or even hundreds -- of
repetitions of exercises in order to strengthen the
abdominals. Once an activity for the abdominals exceeds
about 70 seconds in duration, it becomes a test of
endurance rather than strength.
A preferred
exercise for the abdominals is the “crunch” . Crunches
have a more restricted range of motion than situps.
Abdominals are used during the first 30 degrees of
conventional bent knee sit-up movements (with respect to
the horizontal). It’s not necessary to bring the torso
up further than that. Crunching up 4 to 6 inches is all
that’s needed for the crunch exercise. |
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Crunches are
performed by first lying down and elevating the backs of
the lower legs (like placing them on a bench or a stool
if lying on the ground). The angle between the upper and
lower legs should be about 90 degrees. This causes the
iliopsoas muscle to relax, thereby reducing the load on
the lumbar spine. Next, the head is lifted so the chin
is tucked into the chest. Arms can be either folded
across the chest or placed flat on the floor along the
body. Another variation would be to place the hands
behind the neck, taking precautions not to pull up on
the head during the movement. The exercise is begun by
lifting the torso as high as possible. Avoid throwing
the arms and/or head forward as the exercise is
performed. The movement should be briefly paused once
the torso |
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is at its
highest position. The torso is then lowered under
control back to the starting position. The head should
not touch the ground between reps, as doing so would
take tension off the bdominals and allow them to rest
and momentarily recover.
The hanging
leg raise is a productive exercise for training the
lower portion of the abdominals. The starting position
is assumed by hanging from a chin-up bar with the legs
crossed at the ankles. The knees are brought to the
chest to begin the movement, and once there, held
briefly before lowering them under control back to the
starting position. Workload on the muscles can be
increased if desired by performing the exercise more
slowly, or by having someone apply manual resistance to
the upper legs.
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