Hello,
I just finished the Break-In and am excited to start HT1 next week. The only excercise I worry about is the reverse crunch. I can do the ball crunches no problem, but can't seem to do more than a couple of the reverse crunches. Should I substitute it, or what?
Thanks,
Brian
How do they recommend you do them? Hanging or on the floor or on a ball? (Sorry I don't have the book)
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Blackjack, NROL shows them on the floor, hands on the floor at your sides.
Lake, first try doing them on a bench holding onto the bench above or at the sides of your head. You want them to be controlled, but if you have to kick your feet up a bit to get started, then do that for now. Work to control your movement back to the bench. As you get stronger you can begin to control the upward movement too.
If that's still too hard then we'll have to come up with a better starting exercise for you, like planks or dead bugs. See if you can do them though. This is obviously an area where you need increased strength and control.
It may be a hip flexibility issue. I could never do more than 2 or 3 reverse crunches. However, I started incorporating mobility drills and stretching on off days, and now I can do mulitple sets of 12 with no problems.
uh... ok, I'm not quite sure get how you're using your arms... are you holding on to something (like, behind your head) and pulling as hard as you can to start the lift?
and... you just can't do more than a few of those (even if reverse crunches were the only activity for the day), or you can't do more than a few at the end of the workout?
and why do you stop? your legs just won't go up or does something hurt? I knew this guy who wouldn't do reverse crunches because "his back hurts." turns out his deadlift needed more attention than reverse crunch (well, his deadlift wasn't really a deadlift).
...I think Bulking-up is right, you're probably too tight and that's making the lift more difficult. It could be just that you lack the strength... It may sound weak, but you can try doing it one leg at a time (and work on hip mobility). you should be able to do these in no time.
uh... ok, I'm not quite sure get how you're using your arms... are you holding on to something (like, behind your head) and pulling as hard as you can to start the lift?
and... you just can't do more than a few of those (even if reverse crunches were the only activity for the day), or you can't do more than a few at the end of the workout?
and why do you stop? your legs just won't go up or does something hurt? I knew this guy who wouldn't do reverse crunches because "his back hurts." turns out his deadlift needed more attention than reverse crunch (well, his deadlift wasn't really a deadlift).
...I think Bulking-up is right, you're probably too tight and that's making the lift more difficult. It could be just that you lack the strength... It may sound weak, but you can try doing it one leg at a time (and work on hip mobility). you should be able to do these in no time.
The lead boots thing me be close, I have long legs, and maybe this is making it harder for me to start.
I have my arms like it shows in NROL pressing down on the ground under my legs.
And yes I stop just because I can't move anymore.
To be sure I am doing what I am supposed to. Like the picture shows, I am flat on my back, my legs in the air as if I am sitting on a chair, and arms pressing straight down. Now it seems like I am supposed to move my legs and hips by just jointing at my lower back, keeping the angle between my legs and hips the same. Is this right?
The dead bug is one of the most basic core exercises to teach control of the pelvis during movement. Mike Robertson discusses it in his article Core Training for Smart Folks and shows pictures of himself doing the movement. He says if you can't pass the leg lower test (which he goes through in the article) then you should begin with dead bugs.
I remember reading in an article (probably by Mike Robertson), that you should keep from excessively arching your lower back and rounding your pelvis forward during reverse crunches. Focusing on this seems to help me, and fighting the anterior pelvic rotation increases the challenge to my core muscles.
Trouble doing reverse crunches.
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