Here's Some Back Friendly Abdominal Exercises
Hello all ….. Dr Brad Ivanchuk here.
I am a Burlington, Ontario chiropractor at Life Chiropractic Centre on Guelph Line.
I am also a Personal Training Specialist and a American Posture Institute certified Posture Expert and Postural Neurologist.
Today, we are going to continue to learn how to flatten that stomach without hurting your low back.
These tips are going to be for those of you who are just starting out.
And none of these exercises will be sit-ups. Sit-ups do not exercise the deeper core muscles which are the most important ones,and they can be very harmful to your lower back. So, never ever do sit-ups!
The first thing is, you need to do your core or abdominal exercises every other day or at least 3 times per week.
And just like any other muscle, they need to be consistently challenged to become tighter and stronger.
So, here are 3 easy exercises you can start with …
The first one is vertical chair knee raises or V-ups. If you belong to a gym, most of them have a vertical chair.
But if not, you can easily do V-ups at home just like you can the rest of these exercises. You want to work up to 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions per set.
On the 2nd day, you do elbow planks. Your goal is to be able to plank for 1 minute and you eventually want to be able to do three 1 minute planks with a 1 minute rest in between.
Remember when you are doing your planks to pull your belly-button in towards your
spine and squeeze your butt-cheeks together.
This way you are sure to engage and activate all your core muscle fibers.
The third exercise is a bicycle crunch.
Do these within your comfort zone; nice and easy.
You want to work your way up to 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions.
To finish off, we are going to do a 4th exercise which will focus on your lower back to balance out all the work you have just done on the front part of your body.
And the easiest and safest one to do is seated good-mornings using your upper body weight only.
Again, you want to work up to 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions.
Now, if any of these exercises bother you, and none of them really should, then stop doing them.
And if you are not sure how to do them with proper form, you can easily find instructional videos on YouTube.
To recap – vertical chair knee raises or V-ups (one or the other).
Elbow planks.
Bicycle crunches.
Seated good-mornings.
Your ultimate goal by the 2 or 3 month mark, is to do the whole routine (all 4 exercises) every other day or at least 3 times per week.
Next time I am going to go through some more advanced exercises for those of you who have a better level of fitness.
In the meantime, if you have any questions on this topic or any other health concerns you may have or any of your children may have,please call me.
Consultations in our office are always free of charge and they also include a detailed postural analysis.
Our phone number here in Burlington is 905 335 LIFE (5433) or you can email me by clicking on the link found on our home page.
Remember that good posture is always by design and never by circumstance.
Life Chiropractic Centre …. Helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington, Ontario.
Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad