Elephant bite #1

[Bruce]

Quarter situps
Lay down with your back on the floor and your knees bent so your feet are also flat on the floor. Raise your shoulders slowly and gently up as far as you can. Then slowly lower them down. Repeat this until you can't do any more.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And the sooner you start eating, the sooner you'll be done. It's the same with fitness. Start here and start now! Do a little bit at a time, but do it right away.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (read this AFTER you have finished your first set of quarter situps):
- This simple exercise works the tummy (abdominal muscles).
- Use your tummy muscles to raise your shoulders off the floor.
- Raise and lower the shoulders slowly and steadily.
- Raising the shoulders 1/4 of the way up is enough (that's why they are called 1/4 situps).
- Don't hold your breath as you do this.
- Hold your tummy in as you do this.
- Rest your hands on your chest or shoulders if you want you neck to do a little work too.
- Or, to rest your neck put hands behind the head and feel the weight of your head in your hands.
- DO NOT PULL YOURSELF UP WITH YOUR HANDS! YOU MAY HURT YOUR NECK!

Stop reading this and do a second set of 1/4 situps -as many as you can.

Then rest a few minutes and do a 3rd set.

That's it. Do this exercise 3-4 times each week (about every second day)

[Jamie]

Quarter sit-ups are great , I do these all of the time on the incline bench, but try doing the opposite as well and super set them together. I start from the sitting upright position and lower my body down to the incline bench about a quarter to half way without touching the bench pause for a second and then go back up. I try to do as many sit-ups as i can for one minute, then straight to the the quarter sit-ups as Bruce described . This routine will hammer your core. Bruce what do you think ?

[Bruce]

You got it, Jamie!
What you described works well with the standard 1/4 sit-ups to give the core a major wake-up call. (I usually suggest that anybody just starting out might want to stick with the 1/4 situps for a while to properly condition the muscles - then add a few of the 3/4 laydowns that you described.) Doing all this on the incline bench also ups the ante big-time.

BTW, If you want an interesting add-in that adds a blast to the obliques, try this - also on the incline bench after your 3/4 laydowns. Lay back halfway (or sit up halfway), twist the chest to one side extending one arm down to the floor and the other one up to the ceiling. Then with a pulsing motion and keeping your back off the bench, repeatedly reach for the ceiling with your upper arm, then back down to the floor wih your lower arm. For me one set is 8-10 pulses per side (a tough 1/2 minute). Do 1 or 2 sets, then finish it off with the 1/4 sit-ups to failure as you suggest.
Cheers,
Bruce

[Jamie]

yeah that sounds like it might hammer your core I am doing something kind like this only i am using a medicine ball. I sit up half way and twist over to one side and then the other on the following rep.

I have a question ,what are you ding to attack the flabby stuff in the lower back just behind the oblique? I have not been able to get rid of this !

[Bruce]

Hmmm... I have a bit of that too. Not much but it hangs around no matter what. It may simply be (like most guys) that my body wants to to be that way, so I'm not going to obsess over it.

Be careful, though, if you are more persistent than I am. The obliques are among the easiest to develop and increase in size. Don't think if you work that area hard you'll slim it down. If your body says "I want some fat there", then all your exercising will build larger obliques under the fat and you'll look even bigger there. the best way to attack it is thru cardio and hope you'll lose fat around the waist.
Bruce