Learning challenge s23w5: "I Love My Body /Sit-up/Reverse Crunch

Dear students, we warmly welcome you to week 5. Only one week is left in this season 23. How time flies!

So far so good, we have been able to achieve a lot in the past 4 weeks and we are happy that so many of you are happy with your achievements, isn't it? We know that a good number of ghost students are practicing all our programs behind the scene and they are also achieving a lot.

That being said, we appreciate all who are making efforts to follow our programs. We are really making progress. Like it's always said, consistency, persistency and endurance including determination is the key to success in any fitness endeavours. Self denial also comes in as you run away from those meals you enjoyed but that aren't good for your health. Whatever efforts you are making to stay fit and to love your body will surely not be in vein. The outcome will surprise you overtime. Let's keep moving together dear ones.

For this week 5, we will like to introduce you to sit-up and reverse crunch. We want you to work on you upper and lower abdomen this time. But what is sit-up and reverse crunch, how can they be achieved? Which muscles are involved and what benefits can be derived from achieving them? Let's see.

Sit-up

The situp is an effective abdominal program that helps to strengthen and tone the core muscles. It is performed by lying down with our backs pressed to the floor, bend our knees and spread our feet hip-width apart, the hands can go in the back of the neck or overhead, but without pulling it either on the chest or on the sides, we contract the abdomen and bring the torso to the knees and then go down again and start over.

The rectus abdominal muscle are the primary target in situp and this is the muscle that is responsible for the six pack appearance but other core muscles are also engaged for stability and strength.

There are a lot of benefits that comes from seating up. Remember that the core muscles are strengthened, then our posture is improved, our endurance in carrying out physical activities are increased too. Our spine and pelvis are stabilised which helps to reduce the risk of back injuries with time. When added to other programs, it can contribute to the overall body strength.

• Begin by lying down on your back with your face facing upwards and bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor but ensure that your upper body is flat on the ground.

• Cross your hands at your back neck or place them over your head. This helps with balance. Try to avoid pressure on your neck.

• Tighten your abdomen or core and use the strength or muscle there to pull your upper body towards your knees while your feet remain on the ground without moving them. As you rise towards your knees, breathe out and as you go back to the original position, breathe in.

• Repeat the same process over and over again until the required repetitions are achieved. It might be difficult but you can achieve it.

Reverse crunch or Inverted abdominal

The inverted abdominal or reverse crunch is a variant of the traditional abdominal and as the name suggests, it is the opposite of the normal crunch, since instead of bringing the torso to the knees, here we will bring the knees to the chest.
In this type of abdominal, the lower abdominals are worked with greater emphasis, developing both the upper and lower parts.

• Start by lying with your back flat on the floor or yoga mat with your legs straight in front of you and your toes pointing to upwards

• Relax your neck and shoulders and let your arms rest by your sides with your palms facing down.

• Then make sure to contract your abdominal muscles to enable you to stabilise your pelvis

• Then, bend your knees to form an angle 90, while you lift your legs from the floor, ensure that the 2 legs stay together

• Move your bended legs forward to your chest and slowly curl your hips off the floor. Please try to control this movement by doing this slowly.

• Then gradually return to the original position without letting your hips down without letting your feet to touch the ground

• Then repeat these steps until you achieved the required repetitions.

Remember to relax your neck and shoulders throughout the movement. Use your abdominal muscles during the movements for effective results and avoid letting your feet touch the ground. Reverse crunch is meant to strengthen the lower abdominal muscles. So use the strength from the lower abdomen to pull your butts up.

In both types of abdominals the rectus abdominis is worked, both the upper and the lower part.

Below is a video link where the 2 programs are demonstrated for better understanding. Watch carefully and perform yours according to the tasks you are given.