![]() I am sorry, you will hate me but your abs will thank me in the long run. To make matters worse I’m having you add a little extra pulse too. Especially not 150 of the darn things.I am not going to lie…there is nothing fun about the bicycle crunch. I would certainly incorporate them into a bigger workout, but they wouldn't be my sole choice of exercise. Whilst crunches do of course offer a good upper abdominal workout, that's pretty much all they offer in my eyes. If this two weeks taught me anything, it's that being short on time means finding exercises that work several muscles at once, to really make the most of the minutes. In an article in the Strength and Conditioning Journal, there’s a theory that all these crunches could cause my back to round slightly - in turn causing a slump.īut, as I do devote time to stretching, perhaps this was negated for me. I had read that crunches could actually ruin your posture. It was as though my abs were a bit stronger so they were just holding me upright. My abs felt strongerĭespite the niggles in my lower back and neck, which were both relieved by some light stretching (thanks for asking), I noticed my posture improve. In fact, some days I popped my set of the best workout earbuds in or opened my iPad for some light relief whilst I crunched. Minutes ticked by and I feel like I could have been diagnosed with repetitive strain syndrome by the end. It’s such a small movement so I figured I could easily get them done in a minute. *don’t hold me to this 150 crunches takes a long time If you can hold this for a minute, I’ll give you a medal*. Your upper body is also off the ground, and arms are held out either side of your body in a straight line. This is a tricky one, but essentially, you are balanced on your bum, legs straight out in front of you just off the ground. Moves such as the plank work the entirety of your midsection. There’s a wealth of other exercises that offer more bang for your buck when it comes to working and toning your core. So, there’s undoubtedly better ab exercises to choose from However, looking at my stomach in the mirror after 150 excruciatingly painful crunches, I did see my upper abs looking more defined. I already knew that the crunch was specifically one of the best workouts for upper abs, but this confirmed it. My upper abs toned - but my lower abs stayed exactly the same Perhaps next time I will do the same crunch experiment, alongside a diet of cupcakes and crisps? Hmm, food for thought. I didn’t change my diet during these two weeks, and my body fat stayed the same throughout. That’s not to say that a longer period of time wouldn't have made a difference, but it does pretty much suggest that crunching won’t burn fat. After six weeks, there was no significant effect of the abdominal exercises on body weight, body fat percentage or abdominal circumference. Both groups were given the same number of calories one group was given abdominal exercises to perform, whilst the other wasn’t. ![]() Researchers observed 24 people, split into two groups, over six weeks. You can do all the ab exercises in the world but if there’s a layer of fat sitting on top of them, they won’t be showing.Ĭrunches certainly won’t burn off the tummy fat, as one study has proved. As a personal trainer, I would advise anyone wondering how to lose weight on their stomach to first and foremost sort their diet out. They say abs are made in the kitchen, and it’s true really. Think you can go crazy on the crunches and watch belly fat melt away? Think again. I was really crunching as quickly as I could, and as a result I was yanking at my neck to pull my shoulders off the ground, whilst pushing my lower back into the ground, when really I should have allowed for the curve in my spine to stay neutral. I think a big reason for the lower back soreness was because after about 50 crunches, my form did start to deteriorate. Well, I guess I could have predicted this one following my ‘crunch research’ (see above). So a toned core isn’t JUST about bashing out a load of crunches.Įither way, I devoted a good few minutes every morning to dropping down and doing 150 of these crunches. In fact, to work the abdominal muscles, a variety of abdominal exercises are needed. ![]() Plus, the same research has explained how, to increase core strength, a mixture of exercises is needed including non-targeted core moves (think squats, deadlifts, rows, etc).
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