While most people understand the importance of incorporating an abdominal workout into their weightlifting… More
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Summary: Advanced crunches will challenge your abdominal muscles as well as several other core muscles. Learn how to do advanced crunches to strengthen ab muscles with tips from a fitness trainer in this free core exercise video.
Carol Childers has been a physical fitness trainer for 23 years. She is experienced in yoga, pilates, sports conditioning, core strength training and nutrition. She currently works...read more
"After you've mastered your basic and intermediate level abdominal crunches, then you can start to work more extension of your livers. So arms out by the shoulders and as you...err, by your ears. As you bring them out by your ears make sure that your lower back stays into your surface that you're working with, and then begin to extend your feet. Leave a slight bend in the knees so you take hip flexors out of the picture because when we do the slip we want the whole midsection to be working. So you're taking a big inhale and exhale, and come forward and reach out over the top of the thighs. Slowly curl back down so you're articulating all 17 vertebrae, inhale back. Now, once you've got that down, give yourself about 5 reps on that, we're going to take a big inhale, and we're going to exhale and we're going to lift the legs at the same time. Come forward and slowly inhale back, and you can either extend your legs back out with your back into the surface or you can bend in your knees and then extend. Whatever strength and range of motion you're working with, stay where you start and work within that range. So a big inhale, arms beside the ears, exhale up and hold into neutral pelvic posture. If you want to straighten your legs you can, just make sure hip flexors stay out of the picture, and inhale, and exhale back down. So you might want to try it first with your feet on the floor and then extend all the way through. Try one mastering with just the abs doing the work this way, and up and release, and then advancement three, lift up, hold, let your shoulders stay in neutral and release, and breathe. "
eHow Article: Abdominal Exercises: Advanced Crunches