The Magic of ABDS Curls - Part Two

The Magic of ABDS Curls -
and how to do them correctly



A. Lie on your back, with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Turn your toes slightly in so your knees are upright and stable. Fllatten your belly toward your spine while allowing your lower back to lengthen. Let it have a natural curve off the floor. Place your hands behind your head--they will be merely as a support to hold your head during the curls.



B. Lift your shoulders up slightly and you will feel your ABDS tighten. Be sure to keep them flat. by drawing them in toward your spine. Do not pull on your head with your hands. They are just a support. Which means your ABDS have to do all the work. This position is the Start and Finish position of each curl. Be sure not to relax in between each curl.



C. Onne in your Start Position, come up as high as you can in your curl while being sure to keep your ABDS flat. If they begin to come up, you are curling up too high. Do a set of 8-12 curls: Start Position, Curl Up, Finish Position.
Rest for 30 seconds. Repeat another set.

Most of us want flat, tight, toned ABDS. Exercises for tight ABDS are the number one requested exercise instruction asked of personal trainers. Conditioned ABDS not only make you look great but they also are key in preventing back problems, helping you physically function with more ease and confidence in everyday activities, and particularly to play sports well--they are involved in everything we do. 

Now I want to help to clear up some misunderstandings about the way to exercise your ABDS so you are sure to tone them in the best way possible. One key thing that most of us don't understand is that the sit ups and the intense, high-lifted ABDS crunches some of us do are not the best way to flatten and tone, especially if you are just getting started. These exercises don't isolate your ABDS well because they engage your hip flexors to sit up or curl your torso and thus not all the resistance and work is going into your ABDS muscles. 

THE SHALLOW ABDS CURL--It looks insignificant but the results are huge.

You will be surprised by my instructions here and wonder if they really work. So the best thing to do is to just try it for yourself and see. Start by lying down on your back and bending your knees so you can put your feet flat on the floor. Turn your toes just slightly inward so your knees don't lean outward away from each other. This should help you feel real stable. Bend your arms and place your hands behind your head. Keep in mind that when you lift into the torso curl you are NOT pulling on your head. If you are then you are not working your ABDS enough and may harm your neck. 

The first thing to keep in mind is that you want "flat" toned ABDS. The more mainstream exercises that people perform do tone your ABDS but actually thicken them outward more than flatten and tone them. The key is that the most important thing about the exercises I am showing you here is that you only curl up as high as you can while keeping your ABDS flat and that in between each repetition you do not let your ABDS release at all. So as you will see in the pictures you first flatten or pull your ABDS in before you do any curling and you hold the tension on your ABDS for a series of 8-12 reps. If you are pulling your ABDS in throughout you should notice they are tired after one set. You rest for 30 seconds and go into your next set.