Gymnastic Abdominal Exercises

Considerations

• Although these exercises can be done by a person of any age group, starting early is the real secret to success. As we grow old our body becomes more firm and rigid and takes time to loosen up. Also, these exercises are not really advisable for pregnant women. You may want to start these exercises under the supervision of a trained person to avoid any untoward incident.

Exercise

• Three of the most common exercises practiced by gymnasts are given below:

Abdonimal Crunch

• 1. Lie flat on the floor with your arms stretched over your head and legs straight. Lift your hands and upper body (up to the waist) as well as your legs, supporting on your buttocks. You should feel the contractions of your abdominal muscles. Now slowly rock your body forward and backward taking care not to let your hands or legs touch the floor, breathe as normally as you can. Rock yourself for 30 seconds or to the count of 20 to 30 (begin with as much as you can and progress slowly). Relax for a few minutes and repeat two to three times. As you progress, you can add weights on your legs and hold weights in your hands.

Bar Exercise

• 2. Hang from a bar as comfortably as you can, with your feet at least a foot above the ground and your hands poised at arms width. Exerting pressure from your waist down, raise up your feet slowly till your toes touches the bar. On completion of this step, your body would be in a "U" shape. Hold for a few seconds and return to the hanging position slowly. Repeat for about 10 to 15 times. As you progress you can hold your waist and legs in a midair sitting position for a few seconds, on your way down. Do a maximum of three sets.

Levers

• 3. Lie flat on your back with your head touching a pole. Hold the pole strongly with your hands about a foot above your head. Slowly lift up your legs with the support of your buttocks, then raising your body (till the chest) to touch the pole with your toes. Do not bend your legs at the knees. Hold your balance for a few seconds before starting your journey backwards. As you lower your body, stretch out your toes and return to the lying position. Your strength would determine the speed with which you are able to do this exercise. Difficult level is in doing it as slowly as possible. Lowering your body to the count of 10 is ideal. Repeat this 7 to 10 times to a maximum of 3 sets.

Benefits and Warnings

• Gymnastic abdominal exercise makes your body flexible, relieving you of pains. These exercises impart great physical strength, help you get lean abs and carve your core. Although the concentration is on abdominal muscles, these exercises tone the whole body, making it supple yet strong.

  Warning

  While doing the abdominal crunch (exercise no. 1), do not exert pressure or hold your body with the support of your ribcage because this may cause sprain and pain. Concentrate your strength on your abdominal muscles.

  For the hanging bars (exercise 2), do not tilt your head backwards to support your body, do not swing your legs up to get there quickly and do not exert pressure on your shoulder to finish the exercise quickly. Initially lift your legs only up to your comfort zone. Remember, it is the posture that is most important rather than the number of leg lifts.

  For the levers (exercise 3), do not raise your neck or head through out the exercise. Do not fold your knees at any time and do not pull up or lower back in jerky movements. You can ask somebody to hold your legs initially to help you gain the control.