Abdominal Exercises: Intermediate Reverse Curls

Video Transcript

"On the intermediate level of a reverse curl, instead of working with just the lower part of the body -make sure you get that down first so you know what the reverse curl's supposed to feel like, where you're just facilitating right below the navel down to the pubic bone- we're going to incorporate upper body as well, so first find placement so you've got your low back into the surface you're working on, nice neutral posture, relax your neck. Now, if you don't have any limitations with your neck, just let your head rest in your hands. Don't think of pulling forward or arching back, flexing back, but just nice and neutral, all the energy shooting out through the top of your head. Elbows out to the side, nice and soft. If you need to bring them forward a bit just make sure that doesn't cause you to round in your cervical posture. We're going to bring our chest towards our knees and curl. Exhale and release. So I want you to think of those muscles coming together as an accordion effect, and not how far we can pull in or how we can roll up because that is momentum. We want to take charge right here in the midsection of the body. Again, take a moment to make sure you've got nice cervical spine, and crunch. So you're crunching mid-line as you curl and lift up towards the ceiling, and release just halfway back down so your shoulder blades are slightly lifted off of the surface. Inhale and exhale, curl, looking either right through your legs or gazing down at your working abdominals, and crunch, exhale. When you contract, push your toes up towards the ceiling and release halfway back. Work in about 10 reps starting out and try to increase anywhere up to 20-25. The abs are just like any other muscle in the body so you need to work them to fatigue. "