I found through the net this exercise, it's great. But after a couple of times, it felt too easy.
The video demonstrate the standard way to do it.
I made some adaptations :
1. My head is supported by my kids' small beach ball held by my hands - relieves the stress on the neck.
2. Bring the raised knee as close to my chest as possible
3. Cross the alternate elbow beyond the kneecap.
Just wondering if any experts out there got any advice/suggestions.
Am I doing it correctly? Am I risking some injury or overlooking something in my adaptation?
Aiyah, was expecting to see you in action.
ReplyDeleteUnless you have neck issues, i suggest you do not need the beach ball nor actually have your hands supporting your head or neck in anyway. Simply place your hands by the side of your head gently touching of holding your ears.
ReplyDeleteThe main problem I see with the bicycle crunch is as with most variations of situps unsupported stress on the lower back, however this is milder than the standard sit-up.
ReplyDeleteFor this exercise, I had been told that my chin must not be "stuck" on the bust, on the contrary it should be maintained as if there was an orange under it. Do you see what I mean ? :p
ReplyDeleteWhile this will help tone your abdominal muscles it won't do spot reduction of fat in that area...
ReplyDeleteFor a abdominal exercise which puts almost no stress on the lower back and in fact encourages strength there, place yourself either on parallel bars or simile and lift both legs as if sitting down while keeping your back as straight as possible. Introducing a twisting motion to the left and right (as if doing the Twist) will give a strong workout to the obliques as well. This tend to focus on the lower abdominals and lower obliques.
You can complement this by doing Taijiquan's Yunshou. Properly done, this is a good stress free toning exercise (no stress either on the back or your neck)
This is so you do not strain the neck.
ReplyDeleteI'm vain, not narcissistic.
ReplyDeleteBut tell you what though, if I ever achieve the 6-pack abs of that guy, I'll post some pix here.
Well, the effect have been good so far since I started it 2-3 weeks back.
ReplyDeleteThe muscles at the sides and butts contracted and tightened.
Downside though is that it makes the flabby spare tyres more obvious when they hung limply.
When I can resume running next week, hopefully the spare tyres will get eroded eventually.
Que Sera Sera.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing your 6-abs!
BTW, our friend Gibson (aka Moose) should be an inspiration to us all. He is now a lean mean fighting machine since he started running some months ago. Spare typre? Gone. Flabby ass? Gone. I am waiting for him to post some new photos of himself. Gibson, you there??
ReplyDeleteA sensible diet with regular exercise will get you where you want to be. No excuses. Most people are fat by lifestyle choices.
Hi Ur,
ReplyDeleteYou might be right, but sometimes people don't even have such a choice don't you think ?
Looking forward to Snowy's chocolate bars picture... :D
Yes, that's why I said most, not all. :-D
ReplyDeleteThat's it - when I get a pair of running shoes next month, it's back to the streets and the gym for me.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile my abs-exercises at home are still going strong.
oui, sorry I didn't notice the "most" ! :D
ReplyDeletewaow... I don't like that much such exercises. I think I need to be outside to make some sport. I just make some jogging especially face to the wind, it is very pleasant, and a lot of walking and hiking. During the winter, I can go for a swim at the swimming pool but not regularly because it is more and more crowded.
ReplyDeleteSame here, I enjoy cycling so I do a lot of that..err... I did, that is. Time to start cycling again... can't lose to Gibson...
ReplyDelete:) I knew you were a sportive man looking at your picts!
ReplyDeletehehe... actually I don't consider myself a sportive person and most people who see me in person don't either. :-)
ReplyDeleteI actually don't particular partake in any sport especially those where competition with others is involved. I don't watch sports either. With so many other things to see/do why anyone would spend 2hrs watching 22 men kick a ball around a field is beyond me. :-) But hey, whatever rocks their boat! ;-P
I prefer to cultivate the impression of the 文弱书生 (hehehe)
Tsss, tsss, you're not 弱 !! Is 文好书生 a correct sentence ??
ReplyDeletehmm, haven't seen that term before.
ReplyDeleteI am actually quite happy with the moniker wenruoshusheng. After all, I am definitely not the macho, manly, muscular, sporty, type.
Must as well be the the gentle scholarly type who relies on brains not brawns. ;)
You ... are ... making ... this ... very challenging ...
ReplyDeleteLet's make it a competition ... loser buys ice-cream treat ... errrrr ... wait ... that doesn't quite gel, does it?
ReplyDeleteYeah man, loser should go for 3 months without processed sugars and white breads in any form. Artificial sweeteners are just as bad and to be avoided.
ReplyDeleteActually, for those fighting those few extra pounds, you might just try this and let us know the result.
Ahah, Snowy, I was just kidding ! It can be Nutella too ! :D
ReplyDeleteOh, I used to love eating Nutella! But haven't eaten it for a long time, too much sugar in it.
ReplyDelete