April 16, 2024

Up for an Ab Challenge?

September 14, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Plank with Knee Ups!

Up for an ab challenge? Take your planks up a notch by adding this simple move. Begin in a regular front plank. Next, bend your right knee and bring your knee toward your chest. Maintain neutral spine and pull your belly button up. Then, extend your right knee, kicking your leg straight out behind you. Repeat 10 times, then release to your front plank. Next, repeat the same motion bending your left knee toward your chest. Do 10 times. Control your entire range of motion and maintain proper form.

 

*Consult your physician before performing exercise.

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Quality-Control your Crunches

August 30, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Quality Crunches!

Do a quality-control check of your form while doing crunches.

Begin on the floor on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your hands behind your head, with your elbows wide. Lift your chin off your chest. Slowly lift your shoulders up off the floor sliding your ribs toward your hips. You should feel the ab muscles engage. Exhale, and lift up 1-2 inches higher, that’s it. Pause at the top of your range of motion.  Inhale, and slowly lower your shoulders to your starting point, not all the way to the floor. Pause at your starting point. Start with 10 reps.

 

*Consult your physician before performing exercise.

 

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To challenge your abs…

May 24, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Elbow to Knee Plank

Want to challenge your abs? Add this exercise into your workout! Begin in a plank on your hands and toes. Lift your right foot up off the floor, next bend your right knee and bring it toward your right elbow. Extend your right knee to and return your foot to the floor to complete one rep. Next lift your left foot up off the floor, bend your left knee and bring it toward your left elbow to complete two reps. Repeat until 10 reps are performed.

 

*Consult your physician before performing exercise.

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Core Moves: Easy as 1-2-3 by Chanda Fetter

August 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment

We’re all busy, busy, busy, so here are three great go-to exercises to strengthen your core. 

No more excuses, strengthening your core is a necessity!  It allows us to stand taller, have a stronger spine with less low back and neck discomfort.

Plank  – This is one of the all time best core exercises.  The idea is to contract your core muscles while holding a prone neutral position.  Planks can be done on your elbows, hands.  A general modification to keep your knees on the floor, just make sure your weight shifts into the abdominals as opposed to hips or shoulders.  You will want to tighten your abdominals and make sure to keep your legs sipped together as one.  Other variations include side planks, dynamic rotation or even adding a pike.

Sitting V with Trunk Rotation – Grab yourself a 5-10 pound medicine ball, bag of potatoes or even fruit.  Sit up tall with your feet on the floor, knees bent and hinge back from the hips to engage your abdominals.  If possible wedge your feet under something for added stability.  Be sure you don’t hinge back too far as you don’t want to over recruit your hip flexor muscles, nor do you want to load your lower back.  Stay at a safe angle that allows maximum recruitment of your abdominal wall.  Take your weight and rotate side to side making sure to stay evenly planted on your tail.  While you are performing this exercise be sure to tighten your abs and breathe deep.  Know that this exercise can be performed with just your body weight as well for less intensity by simply crossing your arms on your chest.   Perform until you find fatigue in your abdominals then rest for a few breathes and repeat 3x.

Superman/woman – Lie on your stomach with your arms extended overhead and legs reaching long out of your waist.  Lift opposite arm and leg while lifting chest slightly off the ground.  As your limbs lift, your chest lifts, and they go down, your chest lowers back down.  Once you get the hang of that try lifting all four limbs off the floor and hold for 15-30 seconds.  General reminders are to lengthen out of your spine and inhale, then exhale and lift your chest off the ground to find a position just beyond neutral.  You’ll want to be sure you pull the shoulder blades down your back so you’re not taking weight into your neck and shoulders.  Keep your gluts relaxed and feel the muscles along the sides of your spine tighten and you extend your back.

Chanda Fetter
IMX Pilates Studio & Fitness Center, Owner
IMX Pilates Master Trainer
Chanda@imxsb.net

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3 Core Mistakes by Chanda Fetter

August 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Having worked in the fitness industry for over twenty years, one of the biggest deficiencies I’ve seen in people’s training is working the Core. Most neglect it all together, others just do the exercises improperly.  Either way it leads to bad posture, low back pain and countless other problems, all which could be eliminated. Remember your core essentially makes up all the muscles between your hips and your ribs both front and back!

Keep the following  in mind the next time you’re working your core:

Core is MORE than just Abs – The language I use with my clients is “front core” and “back core.” Owning a Pilates studio I see people with back problems all the time, I hear the same mistake over and over again. There is a misconception that working your Abs is working your Core.  If you neglect to work your spinal muscles but continue to work only your abs, there will be a drastic muscle imbalance created thus resulting in more back pain, tight hip flexors and even tension to the neck.  So evaluate your workouts and make sure to include “back core” exercises into your routine!

Slow Down – It pains me to walk through the training room and see people rapidly moving through their sit ups. If it hurts more than it helps, don’t do it! Moving too quickly through your motion adds stress to the spine, recruits too much hip flexor and tends to skip over the deeper abdominal muscles.  So just slow down a little and let your muscles define your range, not your momentum.

Be nice to your neck – Neck pain should not be felt during abdominal work. What most people neglect to address is the Lats. Often times when doing crunches people round the head forward too far and pull on it, or when in a plant the weight of the head sinks and adds stress to the neck. By simply pulling your shoulder blades down and engaging your Lats, the tension is pulled out of your neck and shoulders and allows for a much more enjoyable experience with core work.

Chanda Fetter
IMX Pilates Studio & Fitness Center, Owner
IMX Pilates Master Trainer
Chanda@imxsb.net

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