The most common form of abdominal exercise performed to help develop stronger firmer abdominal's. Remember to read the notes on abdominal techniques for extra guidelines.

Place your feet firmly on the floor, in a position that keeps your lower back in contact with the floor throughout the movement. (Imagine your buttocks and lower back being sucked into the floor).
 
Focus on keeping your fingers on the side of your head, in front of your ears, keeping your elbows pointing out to the side.

Use your hands to support the weight of your head, not to pull yourself up with, your abdominal muscles should only perform this.

Keep your chin away from your chest throughout the movement, by looking upwards, aim for your spine and head to be aligned.

Inhale and slowly lift your shoulders - elbows - head, as a complete unit, without bringing in your elbows or bending the neck.

On full contraction of the abs, you should aim to have lifted 30 degrees off the floor, holding the position for a split second prior to exhaling and lowering under control ready to perform your next rep.

Beginners, this is an ideal exercise for you. Aim to perform 8 - 12 reps in a slow controlled manner, rest for 20 seconds and repeat again.

Intermediates aim for 12 - 20 reps repeated twice.

Advanced work for 20 - 30 reps repeated three times.

The key focus point for this exercise is the speed you perform the movement. Avoid momentum and bouncing off the floor, keep the action smooth and slow so that you can feel your abs contracting.

Additional resources :
Abdominal technique Aerobic training Basic sit-ups	Fitness Fitness exercises Fitness tips	Stretching Strength training Test your fitness Training programs

There are currently over 200 different Abdominal exercises with new training programs added each week within our members area.