|
Your Abs and Back
Your “core” muscles are your abdominal muscles (“abs”) and your lower back, since they form the core or center of your body. Your combined ab and back strength is called your “core strength.” Core strength is important to almost every form of exercise: skiing, inline skating, dancing, you name it.
I’ve saved these muscles for last because you’ve needed them during your previous strength exercises to stabilize yourselves (that is, to hold yourselves in the correct position).
Had you begun exercising these muscles earlier you would have pre-fatigued these muscles
and compromised your stability, which in turn compromises your alignment and safety.
Don’t Do It Like That
First, the abs. Everyone always wants better abs. That’s why we’ve all seen people
doing full sit-ups, elbows pointing to the ceiling, trying to swing themselves up, pulling
on their heads with their hands to help themselves get airborne. A trainer friend of mine
says they look like they’re trying to pull their own heads off. Here are a few reasons
not to do this:
|
The Four Tenets of Weight Training |
- What is it?
Progressive overload of the body’s major muscle groups by working them to failure
- Why?
–To build muscle strength (vs. endurance)
–To complement your cardiovascular (aerobic) training, which builds endurance
- How much?
1–2 sets of 8–15 repetitions per major muscle group (one set can be
enough if you’re pressed for time)
- How often?
No more than 1–3 times a week. You must rest 48 hours between strength
workouts to recover properly.
|
|
- It puts unnecessary strain on the lower back. The lower back was originally designed
to last about 30 years, back when our ancestors were lucky to live to be 25. If lower
backs were cars, we’d all have traded ours in several times by now. But since you’re
stuck with the one you’ve got, you don’t want to strain it more than you have to—’nuff
said?
- Full sit-ups don’t work the abs very effectively. It’s physically impossible to do a
full sit-up without engaging your leg muscles (specifically, the hip flexors) as well as
the abs. But we’ve already worked the legs. So why waste time working them again?
- When you pull on your head and swing your torso up off the floor, you’re using
momentum, not muscle. So you’re putting the time in, but you’re not working the muscle
effectively; swinging is cheating, not lifting, and the out-of-control motion can lead to
injury.
So let’s try doing a real crunch.
|
Warning |
|
In strength training, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, and discretion is
always the better part of valor. If something doesn’t feel right, or if the
repetition you’re doing feels particularly difficult, stop. Many athletes have
hurt themselves by pushing too hard to finish the number of reps they told
themselves they would do, and ignoring the body’s clear signals in the
process. |
|
Do It The Right Way
Basic ab crunch
Lie on the mat with your knees bent and your feet a comfortable distance from your body.
Place your hands behind your head to support the neck, but never use them to pull your head
up (hint: if you can see your elbows out of the corners of your eyes, you’re cheating!).
The whole secret here is to keep your chin up and your eyes on the ceiling. Exhale and lift
your torso; you won’t be able to go very high, but you don’t need to. Hold and squeeze at
the top, then inhale and lower down slowly, letting your shoulders (but not your head)
touch the mat. Repeat. You should feel this one all the way down the long muscle that runs
down your front to your pelvis (the rectus abdominis muscle).
Variations for the obliques
What are the obliques? Think of them as the abdominal muscles on your sides. Cross one ankle
on the opposite knee. If you wish, extend the arm on the side of the crossed leg; extend
it straight out from the shoulder, palm down. Now bring the opposite shoulder up toward the
crossed knee. Make sure you’re leading with that shoulder, not with your elbow, which
is cheating again. All other details are exactly the same as those for the basic crunch. Do
one set on one side, then reverse the crossed leg and extended arm and repeat on the
opposite side.
Low Back
Note: although these exercises are very safe, you should still check with your doctor
first if you have any history of back trouble.
|
Now You’re Making Progress |
|
Once you’ve been doing strength workouts for about two weeks, your joints, tendons,
and ligaments will have toughened up. So if you started your leg work two weeks
ago, today you can switch to shorter sets (8–12 reps) with slightly heavier weights.
Choose a weight that makes the last rep challenging (that is, it shouldn’t feel
very difficult until about the eighth rep). IF YOU’RE NOT SURE WHAT WEIGHT TO USE,
START LIGHT. Since most of us just started upper-body exercises last week, stick
with the longer, lighter sets (8–15 reps with little or no added weight) until next
week. In general, when you do add weight, always add it in small increments—1
to 5 pounds, depending on the type of equipment you’re using. |
|
Superman (or Superwoman!): prone version: Lie face down on the mat. You can put one hand
under your chin if you wish. With the other arm, and the opposite leg, extend slightly.
You’ll feel that arm and leg lift slightly, but we’re not trying to lift per se, but rather to lengthen. Reach for opposite walls, visualizing your body stretching out longer. Hold
this position for a few seconds, then slowly lower all the way down. Repeat on the opposite
side.
Superman/woman: all-fours version: Get into a hands-and-knees position on the mat. Your
knees should be right under your hips and your hands right under your shoulders. Extend one
arm and the opposite leg, reaching for opposite walls, visualizing your body lengthening.
You should be as flat as a poker table, with everything in one plane from the fingertips of
the front hand to the heel of the extended leg. Hold this position for a few seconds, then
slowly lower all the way down. Repeat on opposite
side.
|
