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MDrows of the rectus abdominus and the iliopsoas, but the internal and external oblique muscles will also strongly assist in the flexion and rotation of the trunk.
1. Lie on your back on the floor with your legs straight.
Place your hands loosely behind your head at about ear level. Do not clasp your fingers, because this would make it easy to try to pull on your head and neck when you get fatigued, and this could strain your neck.
2. Lift your legs so that they are about six inches off the floor. Exhale and then pull in your stomach as far as possi-ble. This will be done with the transversus muscle and will create a bit of an abdominal vacuum effect.
3. Bend both of your knees so that they move toward your chest. Simultaneously, crunch your upper body by lifting your shoulders and upper back off of the floor.
Twist your torso as you move your right elbow toward your left knee.
4. Return to the starting position so that both legs are straight, but do not let your feet touch the floor. Inhale as you straighten your legs.
5. Repeat the crunch but this time twist your torso while pulling the left knee toward the right elbow.
6. Work up to 20 reps on each side before letting your feet touch the floor. Three sets should be enough to make it feel like a blow-torch has been running over and through your abdominals.
To get the smallest waist possible, you should make an effort to pull the transversus in as much as possible at the start of the movement. This will help to establish amazing muscle abdominal control so that you will have the smallest waist when you get to the competition stage or perhaps if you just want to impress your peers at the beach or pool. A strong transversus abdominis also acts much like a weightlifting belt, which stabilizes your spine and pelvis
when you are lifting heavy weights in squats or rows. The iliopsoas muscle is also strongly activated as major hip flex-ors, but because you will be curling your upper body and knees close together, the stress on the lumbar spine is reduced to levels similar to or lower than traditional sit-ups.
The starting position can be a bit tough on the lumbar disks if you have had a previous back injury. If this is the case, you should start with your feet off the floor and your knees bent and curl from this position.
If your body fat is under control, you should quickly feel the deep burn in your abdomen from the superficial muscles to the deep iliopsoas after only a few repetitions.
In six weeks or less, your abs should be tighter, smaller and scary sharp.
References:
Endleman, I, Critchley, DJ (2008). Transversus abdominis and obliquus internus activity during pilates exercises: measurement with ultrasound scanning. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 89, 2205-2212.
Gidaris, D, Hatzitaki, V, & Mandroukas, K (2009). Spinal flexibility affects range of trunk flexion during performance of a maximum voluntary trunk curl-up. J Strength Cond Res, 23, 170-176.
McGill, SM, Karpowicz, A (2009). Exercises for spine stabiliza-tion: motion/motor patterns, stability progressions, and clinical tech-nique. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 90, 118-126.
Parfrey, KC, Docherty, D, Workman, RC, & Behm, DG (2008). The effects of different sit- and curl-up positions on activation of abdom-inal and hip flexor musculature. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab, 33, 888-895.
Teyhen, DS, Rieger, JL, Westrick, RB, Miller, AC, Molloy, JM, &
Childs, JD (2008). Changes in deep abdominal muscle thickness during common trunk-strengthening exercises using ultrasound imaging. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 38, 596-605.
Workman, JC, Docherty, D, Parfrey, KC, & Behm, DG (2008).
Influence of pelvis position on the activation of abdominal and hip flexor muscles. J Strength Cond Res, 22, 1563-1569.
muscle form&function
By Gregg Valentino
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MDFIRST, A LITTLE HISTORY ABOUT ME…MOST OF YOU LONG-TIME READERSHAVE READ ABOUT ME & MY DAUGHTER GINAIN PAST COLUMNS,BUT I HAVE A SONPAUL TOO, BY THE SAME MOTHER (MY EX-WIFE)… HE IS NOW18 GOING ON 19 AND HE WANTS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME… HE IS PART OF MY BROKEN HEART,BECAUSE WE WERE INSEP-ARABLE… MY SONANDIDID EVERYTHING TOGETHERAND FOR THE LONGEST TIMEI WAS HIS HERO… THAT ALL CHANGED NOTLONG AFTER MY ARREST. HE IS AN ADULT NOW, BUT IN MY HEARTHE IS STILLMY BABYAND MY PAST LIFESTYLERUINED ALL THAT…I EMBARRASSED HIM & LET HIM DOWN>NO WON-DERMY SON HATES BODYBUILD-ING... NOW I ONLYSEE HIMIN MY
HEART!!TO THIS DAY, I
LOVE HIM TO DEATH,BUT I LOST HIMLONG AGO… MY ONLY HOPE NOW IS THAT ONE DAY WEWILL BE AFATHER & SONAGAIN… I MISS MY LITTLE BOY, IT’S LIKE A DEATHIN MY FAMILY… HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYONE IN MY FAMILY, YET WE(MY FAMILY
& I)ALL LOVE &MISS MY BOY VERY MUCH. I WOULD DIE FOR HIM… I DON’T EVEN GET ANY RECENT PICTURESOF HIM… I LOVE HIM & I SEE HIM NOW, ONLY IN MY HEART…GOD I MISS HIM!!!BUT IT WASN’T ALWAYS LIKE THIS.
“Any man can father a child, but only a real man can be a dad.”… IN THE SUMMER OF 1999,I PROVED TO BE MY SON’SHERO… THERE IS ALOCAL KIDJOEYAND HIS FATHER,JOE Sr. WHO USED TO
PRACTICE BASEBALL EVERY DAY…. EVEN IN WINTER TIME. THE FATHER(JOE Sr.)IS A
“WHACKO.” HE’S HOPING TO TURN HIS SONJOEYINTO A PROFES-SIONALBASEBALL PLAYER SOMEDAY AND HE IS SO OBSESSED TO THE POINT THAT HE CLEARED OUTHIS LIVING ROOM& TURNED IT INTO A PLACE WHERE HE COULD HAVE HIS SON JOEYDOBASEBALL DRILLS… THIS NUT-JOB(JOE Sr.) MADE A KILLING IN THE ’80sFROM INTEL STOCKS,SO HE HAD A LOT OF MONEYAND HE DIDN’T NEED TO WORK… ANYWAY, MY SON PAUL AND HIS SCHOOL FRIEND CHRISWERE HITTING BASEBALLS ON A LOCAL BASEBALL FIELD… I PITCHED TO EACH KID AS THEY HIT AND THEN THEY PLAYED THE FIELD FOR THE OTHER KID TO HIT…
JOE Sr. AND HIS KIDJOEYCAME TO THE FIELD AND ASKED IF THEY (JOEY & JOE Sr.)COULD PLAY AGAINSTMY SONAND HIS FRIEND… I DIDN’T FEEL LIKE PLAYING SO I JUST WATCHED… AT FIRST, MY SON&HIS FRIEND HELD THEIR OWN, BUT THE FATHERJOE Sr. STARTED THROW-ING FAST BALLSLIKE NOLAN RYANAND TAKING THINGS WAY TOOSERIOUS… YES, JOEY & JOE Sr. WERE NOW BEATINGMY SON&
HIS PALREALLY BAD…JOE Sr.
WAS PITCHING AND ACTING LIKE A JERK, MOCKINGMY SON&HIS FRIENDIF THEY STRUCK OUT… I DIDN’T WANT TO START A FIGHT, BUT I DIDN’T LIKE HIM MOCKING MY KIDS.I JUST KEPT MY MOUTH CLOSED BUT I WAS FUMING I’M STEPPING OUT OF MY RAMBLIN’ FREAK PERSONA THIS MONTH AND I’M
COMING TO YOU AS GREGG VALENTINO, THE HUMAN BEING. I TAKE A BIG RISK EXPOSING MYSELF TO YOU, BUT I HOPE BY THE END OF THIS COLUMN YOU WILL ALL UNDERSTAND… TRUST ME, THIS IS BY FAR THE HARDEST COLUMN I HAVE EVER HAD TO WRITE… SO IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR LAUGHS AND CRAZY SHIT, THEN MAYBE THIS MONTH’S COLUMN IS NOT FOR YOU… JUST TO REMIND YOU, I AM GOING INTO MY 7THYEAR WITH MD AND IT’S BEEN A GREAT RIDE FOR ME AND IT HAS ACTUALLY SAVED MY LIFE… YA SEE, WORKING FOR MD HAS ALLOWED ME TO BE AN ACTIVE FATHER FOR MY CHILDREN, ESPECIALLY MY DAUGHTER GINA, WHO IS MY LIFE… NOT WORKING A NORMAL 9 to 5 JOB HAS GIVEN ME THE FLEXIBLE HOURS TO BE THE FATHER I NEED TO BE… FOR THIS I THANK STEVE BLECHMAN WITH ALL MY HEART— I LOVE STEVE FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR ME… SINCE DAY ONE HERE AT MD, I’VE BEEN IN THE LIMELIGHT AND I HAVE HAD MANY GREAT EXPERIENCES, MEETING LOTS OF MAINSTREAM CELEBRITIES, BEING ON A TON OF TV SHOWS, A FEW MOVIES, TONS OF MAGA-ZINES etc. I AM HONORED AND BLESSED… I HAVE HAD TO OVERCOME A LOT OF BAD THINGS IN MY LIFE AND I HAVE ALWAYS CARRIED MYSELF IN A WAY THAT I FELT WAS CORRECT… NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT.
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