The world of crunches: Defining your abdominals by The Icon Diet Reader

By: The Icon Diet Reader

So there I was, a gangly, ungainly guy standing in a giant aerobics studio surrounded by mirrors. Next to me on the floor was a fitness ball. I had never used a fitness ball, in fact I had never even heard of a fitness ball. None the less, there I was. My work out partner, in far better shape then I, was going to show me how to use the ball to make my ab routine more excruciatingly effective.

The whole premise of this heightened routine was to center around the crunch. For those of you who don't know what a crunch is, a crunch is like doing a sit up without actually sitting up. In fact, the whole motion of a crunch is to keep your abs constantly flexed. I had always thought that crunches were like doing push ups on you knees – a bit of a cop out. I was wrong.

The thing about your abs is that unlike other muscle groups they can take a lot. When you work your abs, it takes a lot to get them going. What is really different about abs is that they bulge in their relaxed state and are stretched thin when flexed. Think about your leg muscles for a second. Your quads bulge when you flex them. Abs are the other way around.

Getting myself on to the fitness ball was an exercise in patients. Having never used one before, it was awkward and it felt really odd. This is due in part to my rather uncoordinated nature, and yes I am a horrible dancer. What really made it difficult for me to position myself correctly on the ball was the fact the I was laughing hysterically. Being in the aerobics studio surrounded by mirrors, gave me multiple angles from which to watch my floundering.

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BIO:

The Icon Diet offers a step by step weight loss guideto help people lose weight quickly, naturally and effectively. Visit the site by going to...

http://www.zizzoo.com/guides/loseweight/index.php

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