A \ closer to a keg, despite your efforts to train your abs a couple of times a week, do cardio regularly and eat a pretty good diet? Can you perform hundreds of crunches without ever feeling your abs tire? It just doesn’t make sense, does it? f these are the kinds of questions you ask yourset, let me pose a few to you: When you train abs, do your low back, hip flexors or thighs feel like they get more work than your abs? Does your ‘raining usually include only the crunch, twisting crunch and hanging leg raise? When you perform your crunches, do you lock your legs or feet in place? Last, is the angle at your hips less than 90 degrees when you do crunches for your upper-abdominal region? It you answered “yes” to even one of the above questions, your ab shortcomings are most likely the result of flavis in your ab training, Remember, just because your torso bends forward doesn’t mean youve worked your abs. I's lke curls and biceps training: You can more easily lift the weight simply by pulling with your shoulders, leaning backward and letting momentum complete the movement. Tiaining your abs, or any muscle, takes a certain amount of Know-how. Ifyou can correct the flaws in your training now, you'll be on your way to developing those six-pack abs. Oblique Crunch MISTAKE: Nor criching and wvisting WHAT" Quick kinesiology fesson: Your internal and extemal obliques become involved whenever you crunch your Torso forward, sideways or ina cwisiiag motion oes the six-pack midsection you desire resemble some! start {Gorse rotation), Therefore, 4 you perform an oblique crunch and don’t include both a Crunching an twisting motion, you decrease the effectiveness of the exercise and| muscular involvement. and by the way, simply Dapping yourshoulder and elbow toward your opposite nee, oF twisting your neck, doesn't constitute FIX ITs when performing an oblique cruneh, simultaneously erunch and twist your torso 0 filly work your obliques, ‘This i also hecessary shen you do Tower-ab movements for your obliques, in which your upper and lower body rotate in opposite directions as they're drawn closer together by the contrac tion of your abs aa cae ar pts tae es Sc sel ARCrunch Movements MISTAKES Putting sbroughs your feet and legs ING: Wienever you perform Feant with your calves esting on abencth ies cie paul to avoid pulling through your hap Ben dant exing,dheough your hips iis your pels bya which in tur muses your torso with ie pepe ftom your rectus abdominis (ahs). But dion {ant the worst of i Maityn Pink, PHD, PI. the dng: alifornia, warns, “If verily strong or tight [ashen Samed 10 abdominal and low-back strength fal tp your pets forward, called an anterior al the pelvis, and cause your back to curve exteseer [and you could] end up with severe teat problems, FIX ITS teyou find w citicultto resist the ure to pal cith Your hips when your feet or loge anchored, then allow them to remain us ned, foe Cutmple, instead of resting your eaes acne flat bench durin A crunch, raise your legs strughe fB. When using a crunch machine, youll hee Pan 0 avo using the Ret or thinnest, ‘When you perform a crunch with your Calves ona bench, it’s difficult to avoid pulling through your hip flexors, Instead, raise your legs Straight up,’ ert 1099 MUSCLE a Fines woeso clownssart chiring the Dur ab.) MF For more informtion on ab training, 99 to wunw.musclesfitness.com and click on Training,