Chris Evans Workout Technique - Swiss Ball Crunches
Recall that crunches are worthless because the movement is too subtle to generate
sufficient tension in the abs. It is a different ball game if you double the
range of motion of the crunch by placing some sort of a pad under your lower
back and glutes. Dr. Fred Hatfield, the first man to squat over 1,000 pounds
in competition, swears by these ‘pre-stretch crunches’.
Stretching the abs amplified the intensity of their contraction and made the
movement harder to confuse with head bobbing and spine yanking. Another
plus is strengthening the abdominals in a stretched position—where they are
often called to perform in sports.
Last but not least, performing at least some of your abdominal strength training
in the stretched position helps your posture: you prevent the abs from shortening
and giving you a hump. Now it should not surprise you that Russians,
Olympic champions, health superstar Academician Amosov, and my aunt Inna,
have been doggedly performing extreme stretch situps over a stool or some gymnastic
apparatus for decades, totally uninfluenced by Western paranoia over this
movement.
Recall that crunches are worthless because the movement is too subtle to generate
sufficient tension in the abs. It is a different ball game if you double the
range of motion of the crunch by placing some sort of a pad under your lower
back and glutes. Dr. Fred Hatfield, the first man to squat over 1,000 pounds
in competition, swears by these ‘pre-stretch crunches’.
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| Chris Evans Swiss Ball Crunches Workout |
Stretching the abs amplified the intensity of their contraction and made the
movement harder to confuse with head bobbing and spine yanking. Another
plus is strengthening the abdominals in a stretched position—where they are
often called to perform in sports.
Last but not least, performing at least some of your abdominal strength training
in the stretched position helps your posture: you prevent the abs from shortening
and giving you a hump. Now it should not surprise you that Russians,
Olympic champions, health superstar Academician Amosov, and my aunt Inna,
have been doggedly performing extreme stretch situps over a stool or some gymnastic
apparatus for decades, totally uninfluenced by Western paranoia over this
movement.
