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Warm Up Exercises
Important:
If at any time you feel faint, light headed or dizzy, please
stop exercising immediately. You should also stop if you experience
undue stress, pressure or pain at any time. See your doctor before
continuing to workout.
A proper warm-up enhances your body’s vasodilatation (relaxation
of the peripheral blood vessels) so that more blood and more oxygen is
delivered to your muscles. It also helps oxygen in the blood to interact
with hemoglobin more easily, improves coordination, reduces heart
irregularities and allows you to burn fat more easily.
Also, since warm muscles are more elastic, they are less susceptible to
injury. Warm muscles also produce a fluid like stretch that allows
for a greater range of motion, while cold muscles can’t absorb shock
or impact well.
Perhaps most importantly, warm muscles burn fat more readily than
cold muscles. That’s because while you’re exercising fatty acids are
released into the bloodstream. If you start your exercise at full speed,
the cold muscles won’t be able to use up the fatty acids and they end
up lining the walls of your arteries.
The most common way to warm up your muscles is by walking,
riding a bike, marching in place or doing knee lifts with various arm
movements for three to five minutes. The best way to know when your
body is warmed up and best prepared for exercise is when you begin
to perspire lightly.
Exercises
1. Basic Crunch
Adopt the basic position and simply crunch
forward while keeping your back on the floor
and your head on the headrest. We suggest
you hold your crunch position, then slowly curl
down and repeat the sequence. Approximately
12-15 repetitions.
2. Reverse Crunch
Keeping the body in the same position, the
only part of the body leaving contact with the
floor will be your feet, legs and buttocks. Your
back still remains flat on the floor. Breathe
out as you slowly pull your knees toward your
chest and breathe in as you slowly return to the
starting position. Perform this exercise in a slow
controlled manner. As you bring your knees
toward your chest, concentrate on using your abdominal muscles not
your legs. Approximately 12-15 repetitions.
3. Total Crunch
This exercise is a combination of the basic
crunch and reverse crunch. While performing
a basic crunch, bring your knees toward
your chest while keeping your back flat on
the floor and your head on the headrest.
Return to starting position and repeat again.
Approximately 12-15 repetitions.
4. Oblique Crunch
While keeping your knees together and bent,
rotate them toward the right side. Legs should
be as close to the floor as possible without any
discomfort. From this position, perform a basic
crunch with your head on the headrest, your
back will be slightly off the floor. We suggest
12 repetitions. Then rotate your legs toward
the other side following the same routine to
work both sides of the obliques. Approximately
12-15 repetitions. To make sure the muscles
in the oblique area are developed evenly the
number of repetitions must be the same on
both sides.
5. Advanced Bicycling
The hands in the basic position, your back
remaining flat on the floor and your head on
the headrest. This exercise is not for beginners.
Start with legs straight in front, flat on the
floor. As you crunch up bring the right knee in
a relaxed bent position in toward your chest
(exhaling as you do so) as you roll down bring
the left knee in a relaxed position toward your
chest. Your legs should be moving as if you
are riding a bicycle. This exercise is quite
demanding on the abdominal area, so you may want to start with 10
repetitions and move on to 12 after the first week and finally 15 on third
week.
6. Advanced Leg Lifts
Start with your head on the headrest, back flat on the floor and hands
in basic position. Slowly lift your legs keeping your knees relaxed and
with a slight bend, lift toward your chest and shoulders while keeping
your back firmly on the floor at all times. Then proceed to lower your
legs back back down to the floor. While doing this exercise you must
concentrate on lifting your legs with your abdominal muscles not your
back or legs. Lifting with your abdominals really isolates those muscles.
We suggest you start with 10 repetitions and move on to 12 after the
first week and finally 15 on the third week.
Exercises cont.
