Reverse Crunches...too easy?

[guru]

Hi all,

Last week I read Mehdi's article on reverse crunches again & realised that I was not doing them as he demonstrates. What I was doing was probably a lying leg raise - lying on a bench, holding onto it for support & raising legs from near horizontal to just beyond vertical - all the time keeping them straight & not lifting my back. These were initially a bit hard but I graduated to doing them without support, i.e. keeping arms crossed on my chest.

Then after seeing the video again & again, I decided to do them the right way, only to find thast they were too damn easy. I thought I was doing something wrong, watched the video again, re-read the article & tried them yesterday - again too easy. The only way I can make them a little harder was not to hold on to anything, keep my arms free at my sides. Then I do feel them in the abs, but still the 12 reps is child's play.

Does that mean I have some extraordinarily strong ab muscles? I doubt that, because doing a dragon flag is still pretty tough.

What do you think guys?

- Guru

[Love_Deadlifts]

Can you post a video? That would give us an idea if you're using good form.

[muddy]

Hey gurunathpdesai,

I've had the same experience. I wonder if others have as well? I find both planks and reverse crunches a little too easy, and I know for a fact that my core is a weakness, not a strength. I am also sure of my form on both.

Instead, I've started doing other exercises as assist work, in an effort to strengthen my core (which I regard as weak). I posted this in another thread, but I've adopted these exercises as core work at the end (not all of these in the same session of course):

Turkish Getup using a kettlebell
L-Sits on parallettes
V-ups
GHD situps (see http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/Cros ... ements.mov )
Back extension, Hip extension, Hip-back extension on a GHD (see http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_GHD.wmv )
overhead squats
Knees to elbow (see http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/Cros ... Elbows.mov )


If you don't have parallettes, you can make some for about $20 out of PVC pipe. There are directions here:

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/13 ... lettes.pdf

If you have PVC cutters, you can skip the electrical tape mumbo jumbo - more trouble than it is worth. Whatever you do, don't skip the primer, though.

[guru]

Thanks muddy for all those links. Will have to see at home. But my point is, if Mehdi has included these in this program, they are definitely not supposed to be this easy.

Anyway, making a video of this one may not be that difficult, since I can make it at home. I'll try that out in a day or two & post.

- Guru

[thepole]

I think most do find reverse crunches fairly easy, but then most don't have good form. Even if you do, they aren't the toughest exercise, Dragon Flags are a MUCH sterner test, so its not surprise you find these difficult. I find roll outs with an ab wheel (or if you don't have one then use a barbell) are the next logical step. Start on your knees, then move onto your feet and then try Dragon Flags.

[holvoetn]

I think most do find reverse crunches fairly easy, but then most don't have good form. Even if you do, they aren't the toughest exercise, Dragon Flags are a MUCH sterner test, so its not surprise you find these difficult. I find roll outs with an ab wheel (or if you don't have one then use a barbell) are the next logical step. Start on your knees, then move onto your feet and then try Dragon Flags.

Oh yeah, the evil wheel

[guru]

Oh yeah, the evil wheel

I know, I used to do them on knees with my younger one's tricycle and it would blow the daylights out of me. evil indeed.

- Guru

[guru]

Hi all,

Here's the video. Tried the youtube first time today, but couldn't make it work. So giving the link instead -



I am holding to a cabinet behind, but pretty loosely. It's mainly to prevent sliding on the floor. BTW, please also educate me on inserting the youtube video.

- Guru

[mjh]

fixed the video. the hash mark (#) at the end of the embed code might have been the problem.

How to embed vids

[guru]

Thanks mjh, wise as always.

[Bizarro]

Hi all,

Here's the video. Tried the youtube first time today, but couldn't make it work. So giving the link instead -

I am holding to a cabinet behind, but pretty loosely. It's mainly to prevent sliding on the floor. BTW, please also educate me on inserting the youtube video.

- Guru

It looks to me like you are swinging from you legs a bit too much rather than doing a purely ab motion, also I would recommend coming to a full pause at the end of each movement to slow it down a bit and make sure you aren't using any momentum for the exercise. Also you should try it with a much lighter counterweight, I use an old crappy curl bar with about 25lbs on it and I really feel it at the end of my reps.

[Bramasole]

If you find a standard plank too easy (ie you can hold it with good form for 60 seconds x 3 reps, try this gut buster version!

Take a 5-10 pound dumbell placed armlength away to your R side.
Get in the plank position.
Extend R hand out, reach for the weight, bring it under your chin and switch it to L hand.
Extend L hand out to arms length and set weight down.
Return L hand to start position. This is one/half a rep.
Repeat above by extending left hand out.
One complete cycle from R to L and back is one rep. Do this 10 complete reps for one set.
If it is too easy still, increase dumbell weight.

An alternate version if you don't have dumbells handy is to move a stack of small plates (ie 2.5 or 5 kgs) in the same manner.
Stack 2-4 plates and move them as fast as you can from one side to the other, one plate at a time.
Return to starting plank position after one/half rep, then begin movingthem back to the R side to complete one rep.

I guarantee if you are bored with the plank one of these methods will give you a renewed challenge.

P.S. I tried adding the ab wheel rollout to my routine the other day.
Silly me, thinking it semed so easy tried to start from a standing position and roll back up.
FAIL. lol....forced to go from the knees. sob.

[leenwebb]

You can always try doing jackknives as well (http://www.drillsandskills.com/images/display?path=leglift.jpg). The trick is to not swing into them, but have your body be still in the starting position.

[Mehdi]

The point is to get your butt off the floor and get it against your head. you can't, but that's what you should think off. Right now you're thinking of getting your knees against your head. Think butt to head. Keep your upper-leg perpendicular vs. your torso during the whole motion.

Also use a dumbbell so you can decrease the counter-weight over time.

Everyone who thinks reverse crunches are too easy, usually makes this error.

[Louchuck]

I think this article will answer your questions of being "too easy". After I read it and tried some of the tests I really started to question the ab work I was doing because I wasn't very good.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_art ... abs_really