I recently did an abs exercises workout at the local YMCA...and I saw every
(useless) type of abdominal exercise imaginable. People were doing all sorts
of stuff that won't:
a) Get them 6-pack abs
or
b) protect their low back from soreness
They were doing crunches, side crunches, some thing where they were passing
the big ball between their hands and their knees. All a big waste of time.
Even situps (of course, these were done with the worst form in the world -
that person must have a sore neck today!).
Conventional thinking says we have to do a whole bunch of sit-ups and
crunches to get six pack abs. But don't most people hate doing sit ups and
crunches?
That's why I don't have these exercises in my Turbulence Training for Abs
workout plans. Neither of the exercises is necessary to get six pack abs.
Crunches are a huge waste of your time. Such a small movement does little in
terms of burning belly fat or sculpting your abs. Every smart trainer knows
that if you can do a resistance exercise 50 times in a row, like you can
with crunches, that there is little benefit to body composition.
Situps are a more difficult exercise, but like crunches, sit-ups are hard on
the low back. Spinal flexion - when you round your low back - compresses the
discs between your vertebrae and is actually the same mechanism that causes
disc herniations. So both are un-necessary and risky moves. Too risky for my
tastes.
Here are some replacements for sit-ups and crunches. Three pairs of
exercises for every fitness level.
Beginner level
-> Plank
-> Side Plank
Intermediate Level
-> Stability Ball Rollout
-> Hanging Knee Raise
Advanced Level
-> Pull-up with Knee-up
-> Hanging Leg Raise
Never do sit-ups again. Use these abs exercises as replacements to help you
build six pack abs safely.
About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training For Abs workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTrainingForAbs.com
