Home >>
Shopping ProSource.net
All Brands >>
All supplement brands listed A-Z
All Categories >>
Products listed by product type.
Top Rated Products
Best in Class >>
Top products that hold the coveted "Best in Class" awards
Top 50 Supplements >>
ProSource.net's top selling products
Exclusive Deals and Sales
Deal of the Day >>
Every day a single top-brand supplement is featured at extreme savings.
Deal of the Month >>
Each month a single top-brand product is featured at extreme savings.
Super Sales >>
Coupon codes and sale items, up to an additional 60% off already low prices!
Posted in:
Articles by ProSource,
Featured Content,
Training Articles,
Muscle Mechanics
By Eric Velazquez, NSCA-CPT
| Sep 27, 2012
Researchers find that speed is key to getting maximum benefit from crunches
Goal: Detail
Bodypart: Abs, Obliques
One move that everyone does when training abs: the crunch.
One move that everyone is sick of: the crunch.
What a tragic duality for this fundamental exercise. While the crunch is ultimately effective at building stronger, better-looking abs, it can be nauseatingly boring for the more experienced trainer.
Crunch, hold, down. Crunch, hold, down. Arrrgh!
But because it is so effective at touching up your rectus abdominis (read: six-pack), it would be nonsensical to abandon it. A better approach, as with many exercises, is simply to find a version of it that is more challenging. Even the crunch, one-dimensional as it is, has a number of varieties that can be employed. You can change the incline, add a twist or change the pace. Here, we'll focus on the latter.
 |
 |
Follow us on
 or
for a chance to win this
product! |
Spanish researchers tested the muscle activity of subjects' rectus abdominis, external obliques, internal obliques and spinal erectors while they performed crunches at rep speeds of 4 seconds, 2 seconds, 1.5 seconds, 1 second or as fast as possible.
Guess what they found? The faster the rep, the greater the muscle activity in all four areas. Strangely, the greatest boost in muscle activity occurred in the external obliques, which were hardly involved in the crunch at the slower speeds, but rose by over six times at the fastest speed.
In other words, fast beats slow when it comes to the crunch and, as a bonus, your obliques are worked to a greater degree than in the standard speed crunch.
Fast-Abs Tips
- Make sure to still work through as complete a range of motion as possible.
- Since the burn is likely to set in later, you may want to use higher reps (20+) when crunching fast.
- To get the best of both worlds, alternate between fast and super-slow crunches from set to set, or add an extended hold (10 seconds or more) on your final rep of each set.
References:
Miguel Hernandez University (Elche, Spain)
http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2008/05000/Influence_of_Trunk_Curl_Up_Speed_on_Muscular.6.aspx
Other Articles You May
Be Interested
In
LEAVE A COMMENT
Please login to leave a comment on this article.
Disclaimer: The articles featured herein are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Specific medical advice should only be obtained from a licensed health care professional. No liability is assumed by ProSource for any information herein.
Report Site Errors Click Here for Important Safety Information
|