Six Stomach Exercise Mistakes
April 22, 2009
There is a right way and a wrong way to do stomach exercises to flatten your midsection. When you exercise the wrong way, not only are you not properly working your midsection, but you are also risking injury to yourself. Before you begin any workout program, speak to your doctor and stretch your body. Here are some common mistakes made when individuals exercise their stomach.
When you do stomach crunches remember to keep your knees bent. Your feet should be flat on the floor. Make sure that your knees are centered and not swaying off to one side or the other. If your knees sway to one side while you are doing your crunches you will compress your vertebrae and risk a back injury.
One of the least effective stomach exercises is sit-ups. Even when you do them correctly, you put stress on your hip muscles. Most people use their arms to pull their bodies up when doing sit-ups. This does not work the stomach muscles. When people do sit-ups they tend to move very quickly and they use the momentum of their torso rather than their stomach muscles to pull themselves up. Try doing crunches instead of sit-ups.
Another exercise that many people do to tone their midsection is a straight leg lift. This exercise actually works your lower back more than your stomach muscles which can cause additional strain to your back.
More is not always better. Some people think that the more repetitions they do, the more developed their stomach muscles will become. This is not true. Do not do more than fifty repetitions of any exercise. Once your body becomes accustomed to doing fifty repetitions, try a more difficult exercise instead of increasing the number of repetitions.
The way you sleep also affects the way you exercise your stomach. If you sleep in an uncomfortable position and awake with back pain it will be harder to exercise your stomach muscles. One of the worst ways to sleep is on your stomach. Sleeping on your stomach forces your back to arch. If you sleep on your stomach, place a pillow under your knees to keep your vertebrae aligned and prevent back injury.
Exercising your stomach muscles without resistance is unproductive. Incorporate some form of resistance in your exercises, such as an exercise ball or resistance band.
It is important to employ proper technique when exercising your stomach muscles. Proper technique will bring you the results you seek without injuring your back.
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