Flat Crunch-AndreMay

Flat Crunch

Muscles
Abdominal Muscles(Abs). Rectus Abdominis, Transverse Abdominis, Internal Abdominal Oblique, External Abdominal Oblique, Serratus Anterior.

One Rep

Starting the rep:
Lay flat on the ground, place your arms above your head and the shoulders to the ground making the chest open. keep the knees up and your feet flat on the ground, about shoulder width apart. Inhale deep.
When doing the concentric phase(shortening of the muscle):
Start lifting your arms, head and chest up from the ground. try to imagine you are reaching for an imaginary point (above your head) on the wall or ceiling. reach with our hands and head and get as high up as possible(some can go all the way up to sitting position). Exhale controlled while keeping the air under pressure(let it whistle out). in an quick determined motion.

The turnaround:
At the end of the concentric phase(maximum shortening of the muscles) be focused on shifting as smooth as possible to the eccentric phase(lengthening of the muscle)
When doing the eccentric phase(lengthening of the muscle):
Lower your upper body, head/shoulders slowly while rolling your back onto the ground, make it coordinated with your arms, so that they get on the ground together with head/shoulders, stretched above your head. Get back to the starting point with an final movement opening the chest. Inhale deep throughout the eccentric phase(when tired you can inhale multiple times while going back to starting position. In an slow and focused motion(muscle/mind). We remember that we have double strength in the eccentric phase, so slow is excellent.

Finishing the rep:
When you are in the starting position, and just before you are transitioning from the concentric phase to the eccentric(witch you are focused on doing smoothly) you make a count, saying it(preferrable) or thinking it....ONE, next rep TWO, next rep THREE....this counting helps you keep track on your progress and focused on the exercise, establishing a routine of what comes first, second and so on(where you are in the rep. start, eccentric, turnaround, concentric or finishing part). The breathing should also be a part of this focus.