Ab Mat for abdominal exercising $29.95
Ab Mat will provide Ab Mat Benefits!
Myths of Abdominal Training
First, we will cover some of the myths that have led to our current
state of ab training. The biggest myth involving the abdominals
is that ab exercise works because you feel a burn in your midsection.
The major reason for this is that the center of the human body,
or abdominal area, is the weak link. It has the least amount of
bone and muscle. Any time you hold on with your hands or anchor
your feet and begin a movement, your trunk area must stabilize the
movement. The abdominal area must then work also to stabilize the
movement.
The
abdominal area must then work also to stabilize the upper and lower
body as well as the movement itself. This is usually done isometrically.
The isometric tension results in a lack of oxygen to the muscle.
Lactic acid builds up in the muscle, inhibiting any further muscle
contraction - thus the burn. When you are doing leg lifts, the abs
act as a stabilizer for that movement with the same results. Place
your back against a wall (Fig 1.) with your legs at 90 degrees or
in a half seated position hold this for a minute. Feel the burn
in your legs? Do you expect this to get your legs in shape?
The second mistake is that just because floors are flat we limit
the range of motion of trunk movements to this flat surface. No
one ever really asked if this was correct. The truth is that this
is not the full range of motion for the abdominals (Fig. 2).
That is right! For all these years, we have been doing only a portion
of the range of motion. Let's do a little test. Sit in a chair and
arch your back, by putting your chest up high. Now move to a straight
up position, now crunch the rest of the way forward (the normal
lab crunch movement). What muscle do you think moved you from arched
back to straight? Yes, your abs. The problem when you use the floor
is that, because floors are flat, only part of the movement is being
done. If you take a close look at most sports, you are often in
this slightly arched-back position. Many back injuries are due to
a lack of strength in this neglected range. The next big mistake
in abdominal training was the elimination of the situp movement.
The situp motion is part of what is called a "kinetic chain".
This means that muscles work together to create compound movements.
Other examples include the squat, bench press, shoulder press and
lat pulldowns. It is not the situp movement that is so wrong, but
the way it is done.
The New Science of Ab Training - Let us examine
the situp movement for a moment. When done properly, the movement
works as follows. Lie flat on your back with the knees bent about
the way you would in a normal situp. Maybe out to 45 degrees, which
means stretched out further. The feet are not anchored, but heels
are on the floor. Place an Ab Mat under your lower back. (This allows
for a full stretch, or range of motion of the abs). Put your hands
between your legs (Fig. 3).
Abdominal Exercises with an Ab
Mat continued
*Disclaimer: Before beginning any exercise program,
consult with your physician to ensure that you are in proper health.
These are not meant to provide medical advice; you should obtain
medical advice from your private healthcare practitioner. No liability
is assumed by QFAC for any of the information contained herein.
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