by Ernest Capraro

Created on: June 30, 2008   Last Updated: July 01, 2008

Sit ups and crunches don't hold much excitement for the fitness bound. Nor do they offer a complete abdominal workout. Thank goodness for the wealth of other exercises available for your midsection. By no means is this an exhaustive list, but if you try every one of them, you can at least expect to find yourself exhausted.

Rowing/Crew coaches are serious about abdominal fitness. My old coaches "borrowed" a routine from a Pennsylvania university, and referred to it as the "Nifty Nines". Ready? Begin.

1. Leg Touch

These are fairly easy. Lying prone on the ground, lift your right leg to point straight up. Now, keeping your shoulders against the ground, bring your leg down to the left, across your body, until it just barely touches the floor. Make sure you don't let it rest though, you continue to support the weight. Then bring it back up, and lower it to rest.

Repeat with the other leg, and count off one repetition. Try starting with five or ten, if the motions are new to your body.

Keep your motions smooth and controlled throughout. Speed lessens the benefit, and increases the chance of injury (as is true of most these exercises).

2. Tick-Tock

If you liked that little twisting burn from the leg touches, you'll love these. Lay on your back with your arms out to the sides and both legs straight up. Slowly lower your legs to the left, almost, but not quite touching the ground. Raise them back up, and then lower slowly to the right, again, staying under control and not touching. Once you're back to the top count one rep. Unless you're very used to torso twisting workouts, I wouldn't suggest more than five of these to start.

3. Half Sit

Lay on your back, and either lightly tuck your hands behind your head or cross your arms across your chest. Simultaneously lift your back and legs from the ground, so that your head and your feet are both six inches (or less) above the ground. You should be balancing on your bottom. This exercise builds endurance. Try starting with a five count, before you relax and let your body return to the ground. Over time, you can build to thirty seconds and more. Do ten of these, increasing the hold time as you need a greater challenge.

4. Scrunchy

Hopefully you learned to balance well by doing the half sits. These are modified sit ups that require you to balance on your bottom as you come up. You start off lying down (or from the half sit position) and sit up, bringing your knees up as you do so. The return trip requires that you extend your legs back

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>