Hard abs, one simple move
Why is the abdominal crunch the most popular abs exercise ever? The answer: ’Coz it’s easy! Unfortunately, it’s hardly as effective as it’s touted to be!
Men’s Health experts believe that the hanging leg raise is the gold standard for all abdominal exercises. It works like this: you hang from a bar and curl your hips and knees up to your chest. Sounds tough? Well, it is, and few can even do one rep with perfect form! The good news is that once you’ve mastered this move, the crunch can well be history. And irrespective of gender, you’ll tone up and see results faster than ever before!
Test Yourself
See how many repetitions of the hanging leg raise you can do with perfect form. Chances are that you’ll manage less than three. Don’t fret. Just follow the instructions in Steps 2, 3 and 4.
Bolster Your Grip
Grab a chin-up bar and keep your hands slightly wider than shoulder width. If you can hang for 30 seconds, skip to Step 3. Else, use gloves or simply wrap a towel around the bar to ease palm sores. (Guys may be interested to know that several women dig that ‘worker’s touch.’)
Improve Your Flexibility
Raising your leg towards your chest requires flexible lower-back muscles and hip-flexors. Check your flexibility with this simple drill: Stand with your back against a wall, your feet about 12” in front of you. Make sure your upper back, shoulders and hips touch the wall, then slide your hand in between the arch in your lower back and the wall. If you can fit only a couple of fingers in the space, go to Step 4. If your whole hand fits easily, you’re tight. To fix it, do the overhead reverse lunge five or six times a week.
Overhead reverse lunge: Grab a light barbell (or even a long broomstick!) Holding it overhead with straight arms, step back with your left leg and lower your body until your right knee is bent 90 degrees. Push back and repeat. Do 2 sets of 12 to 20 reps, resting for 30 secs after each set.
Build Your Strength
The key is to do exercises that strengthen your abs and hip flexors as a unit.
Flat-back leg-lowering drill: Lie on your back and raise your legs over your hips. Press the small of your back into the floor to eliminate the arch of your lower back. Take 3 to 5 seconds to lower your legs. At the lowest point at which you can still keep your back flat, bring your legs to your chest.
Hanging single-leg raise: Hang from a bar and lift your right leg up as high as it will go without allowing the other leg to pull forward. Pause momentarily, then lower it back. Repeat with the left leg. That’s one rep!
For best results: Do only the first move for two weeks, then just the second in Weeks 3 and 4. Post this, do eight to 10 reps of each exercise, resting for 30 secs. Repeat twice. You’ll now be doing Hanging Leg Raises like a pro!
— Jamal Shaikh is Editor, Men’s Health. You may write in to him at jamal.shaikh@intoday.com Caveat: The physical exercises described in Treadmill are not recommendations. Readers should exercise caution and consult a physician before attempting to follow any of these.
