O1xygenAustralianJulyAugust2015_

PHOTO BY ROBERT REIFF

Withtheadventofstabilityballs,TRXsandBosus,chancesareyou’ve

sidelinedthebicyclecrunchinyourab-trainingarsenal.Butnewresearchfrom

the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University studied the activation and

engagement of the abdominals using an electromyography. Results: The bicycle

crunch was found to be the best overall move out of 13 exercises, targeting the rectus

abdominisandobliquesstrongly.Addthisold-turned-newstaplebackintoyour

programmetodayandusetheseformtipstomakethemostofeveryrep.

Liewithyourbackarchingnaturallyanddrawyournavelintowardyourspineto

engageyourabsandprovidesupportforyourback.

Placeyourfeetflatonthefloorabouthip-widthaparttocreateabaseofstability.

Placeyourhandslightlybehindyourearsorthebackofyourheadwithyour

elbowsflaredforsupport.Atnotimeshouldyourhandspullonyourheadand

neck.

Lift your chin. You should be able to slide an orange in the space between your

chinandyourchestwhenalignedproperly.

Lift your head, shoulders and upper back off the f loor by pulling your rib cage

downtowardyourhipbones,thentwistthroughyourtorsowhilecontinuingtolift

upward,drivingoneshouldertowardyouroppositeknee.Keepyourfocusupward

and your chin lifted.

Pause at the top and squeeze your abs before slowly lowering to the start, placing

one vertebra at a time onto the f loor.

As you curl up, exhale and imagine blowing out all your air to intensify the

crunch. Inhale as you return to the start.

By Lara McGlashan, CPT, Fitness Editor

VARIATION

TO TRY

TODAY

HANGING

OBLIQUE CRUNCH

Hang vertically

from a pull-up

bar with your legs

together. Bend

your knees and

lift them up and to

the side, pulling

your hip up to your

rib cage. Pause

and squeeze, then

lower slowly to the

start. Do all reps

on one side before

switching.

Mind

Games

Need to push

past those last

few reps? Use

this mental

trick: Research

from the

University of

Cambridge in

the UK found

that simply

feeling powerful

and having

powerful

thoughts can

help make an

exercise seem

easier and make

a heavy weight

feel 20 per cent

lighter!

BEGINNER’S TIP: Don’t bring your arm across your face to twist. Keep your elbows fl ared at all times

and instead twist through your torso and upper body to do the move.

MORE CRUNCH

VARIATIONS THAT

SCORED HIGH IN EMG

ACTIVATION STUDY

Stability-ball crunch

• Captain’s chair
  knee raise


• 
  

  Legs-up crunch

  
  


• 
  

  Reverse crunch

  
  


• 
  

  Traditional crunch

  
  


• 
  

  Double crunch

  
  

Oxygen breaks it down

true or

false

The quadratus

lumborum is in

your thigh.*

*false

20 | JULY/AUG 2015 | oxygenmag.com.au

Fitness News