Most of us would love to have more toned abdominal muscles, but we dread the crunches that we have to do to get them. Is there any other way to achieve the desired toned look? Well, you’re in luck because there is more than one way to reach the goal. I’m going to discuss two more effective alternatives to traditional stomach crunches.
Russian Twist
The Russian Twist is an exercise that will help tone the abs that makes use of a piece of equipment referred to as a medicine ball. They are often used in sport training for sports such as boxing, but they can also be used to build stronger and more defined abs. Medicine balls generally weigh anywhere between two and 30 pounds, causing them to be very popular in the world of sports training.
To execute the Russian twist exercise, you must sit with your feet flat against the floor while bending your knees and leaning back at a 45-degree angle. You must hold the medicine ball directly in front of you with your arms completely extended, and then you must move the ball from left to right making sure to keep your feet flat on the floor. It must be noted that the exercise becomes much more strenuous depending on the angle you lean backwards at. The further you lean back, the more strain you will be putting on yourself. Remember that you want the exercise to challenge you, but you don’t want to hurt yourself either, so don’t lean back farther than you’re comfortable. This exercise is referred to as a twist because of the twisting feeling the movement of moving from left to right will have on your body.
Vertical Leg Crunch
The Vertical Leg Crunch is a very appealing exercise to people looking for an alternative to regular crunches; it’s proven to be much more effective at burning fat and toning muscles than regular crunches. No equipment is required to perform a Vertical Leg Crunch.
To perform a Vertical Leg Crunch you need to lie on your back with your feet extended strait up in the air with them crossed at the knees. After achieving this position you need to contract your abs which lifts your shoulder blades off the ground. This is what is commonly referred to as a Vertical Leg Crunch, and constitutes one repetition. This exercise is very difficult to perform and as such it’s recommended to keep a low amount of reps. An average amount is 15 reps, but you should only do what feels right.
There are many more ways to get your abs perfected than these two exercises, but these two are among some of the best available at a minimum cost. These exercises are actually more effective than plain crunches!
Sources:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/russian-twist
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/abdominalcorestrength1/qt/vertical_crunch.htm
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