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Secret
Training Tip #991 - Lying Cable-Curl Crunches - A Unique Exercise For Shredding
the Upper Abs
By Nick
Nilsson
Want your
six-pack abs to jump out and demand attention? When
you properly develop the upper abs, you can actually look
like you've got an 8 pack!
The abs are the showpiece area of your body, no question about it. And this
exercise will hit your upper ab area in a way that is totally unique.
You will be doing a regular
crunch movement, but at the same time you'll be putting tension on the abs from
the top-down by pulling down on the cable. It's the combination of the two tensions
(pulling yourself up with the crunch and pulling the cable down at the same
time) that will set your abs on fire!
How To Do It:
For this exercise, you'll
need a high pulley set-up (an adjustable-height pulley is best but a regular
high pulley will work as well). Use a bar attachment on the high pulley - if
you have an adjustable-height pulley, set it to about 2 or 3 feet off the ground.
Set the weight stack with
a light to moderate weight the first time you do this. You don't need heavy
weight for this exercise to be effective.
Lie on your back on the
floor with your head directly under the pulley. If you're using the adjustable-height
pulley, reach up and grasp the bar with a regular curl grip. If you're using
the standard high pulley, you'll need to first grab the bar then sit down on
the floor then lay down.
Hold the bar with your arms
bent about 90 degrees. Your legs will be bent 90 degrees and your body will
be in the start of the regular crunch position.
Now comes the trick:
Begin the crunch movement
- as you do the crunch, pull the bar down towards your chest, until your elbows
touch the floor. Crunch yourself up as high as you can and hold it at the top.
Squeeze your abs hard - the upper/middle area will be on fire even on the first
rep.
Lower your torso slowly
to the floor and let the bar back up. Don't let your arms go fully straight
but keep a 90 degree bend at the top.
By the time you've done
6 or 8 reps of this exercise, your abs will be VERY strongly worked.
And if you really want to
burn your abs out, do 2 sets of this exercise then immediately do 2 sets of
Abdominal Sit-Ups.
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President
of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical
Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for
more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including
"Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've
Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!"
and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available
at (http://www.fitness-ebooks.com).
He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
