Ab Exercises with Author and PT Dan Watt
Of caedar-writing-artwork.com & of course twhealthhumor.com
Trainer Tales:
I was training a client I called mom because the first time I met her she was with her little daughter with eyes full of love. One time I told her I was going to pump her up by yelling at her like Louis Gossitt Junior did to Richard Gere’s character in An Officer And A Gentleman. Mom turned to me and said: “Isn’t that a chick flick.”
Stablity Ball and Plank
Arla is demonstrating crunches on the Stability Ball. Notice her body alignment and the range of motion she uses.
Dr. Arla Kasaj, ND, akwellness@gmail.com
The bigger the ball the more you need to adapt so the lower back is always supported. Don’t use a ball that allows your knees higher than your stomach. Make sure your feet are on a surface that won’t allow you to slide (concrete is not good, if you slide down on your butt or to the side it could cause injury). However, you can do the exercise with your feet raised.
* P. 235 of Stuart McGill, Phd’s book Ultimate Back fitness And Performance, explains that a curl-up on a ball with feet on the floor doubles abdominal muscle activation but also doubles the spine load. Make sure you do the exercise properly!
Look carefully at the range of motion Arla does for the oblique muscles.
Gloria is demonstrating the plank. You can also do this with a stability ball.
Model: Gloria Antwi (certified personal trainer) gloria.antwi@bell.net
A more advanced plank. Very important you stabilize the pelvic area so your butt doesn’t drop below your shoulders compressing your spine or twist at the hips.
All pictures © of respective models and twhealthhumor
There are numerous more ab exercises we’ll go over with time. Try to understand the principle: stabilize the spine, and contract the muscle you want to focus on.
It will be a surprise next Saturday!
NWHealthFitness 