The plank is a great beginner level exercise to teach spinal stability as an anti-extension and
flexion exercise of the spine.
Crunches, sit ups and other spinal
flexion exercises are fine but as your spine moves in a variety of directions, you need to select a variety of exercises if you want to maximise your abdominal development.
Testing on the 1 R.M. continuum on knee
flexion exercises (a.k.a. leg curls) show that to stay within 70 % of the maximum, you can not do more than 8 reps.. So in my opinion, leg curls done above eight reps are a complete waste of time.
These forward
flexion exercises cause risk of impending disk damage.
The middle trapezius is highly activity during retraction exercises, while the lower trapezius is highly activity in abduction /
flexion exercises with the arm at or above horizontal, as well as horizontal rowing.
Performing plantar -
flexion exercises with an extended knee position, including dorsiflexed positions and faster speeds appears beneficial for training the gastrocnemius.
So seated plantar
flexion exercises may benefit most from a focus on type I muscle fibers.
It is one of the best exercises you can do as a counter stretch for the many forward
flexion exercises in Pilates mat work.
Flexion exercises push the disk in the wrong direction.
This exercises can be thought off or classified as an anti-lateral
flexion exercise because you're resisting bending your spine laterally each time the barbell is outside your shoulder.
Research shows that
flexion exercises increased the risk of fractures by 89 % while extension exercises significantly lowered the risk of fractures to just 16 %.
A balanced workout would include a modest number of spinal
flexion exercises and, then, only if you have a healthy back, as well as few rotation exercises to target the obliques.
Initially resistance band plantar
flexion exercises should be done to very gradually introduce some load onto the calf and plantaris muscles.
This is the same finding as for resistance training exercises, where isolated knee
flexion exercises (such as leg curls) produced the best results with the greatest regularity.
Assessing the effect of stability during both compound and trunk
flexion exercises, Mok et al. (2014) assessed the muscle activity of the abdominals in a number of suspension exercises including the hip abduction plank (feet in straps), press up, inverted row and hamstring curl (feet in straps).
Assessing the effect of relative load during different trunk
flexion exercises, Sternlicht et al. (2003) compared a number of abdominal exercises (Ab Roller Plus, Torso Track 2, AB - Doer Pro, and the Perfect Abs) to the traditional curl up.
They found increased rectus abdominis muscle activity when performing trunk
flexion exercises with added elastic resistance from a portable device (Perfect Abs).
Unstable surfaces can be utilised with a plethora of dynamic core exercises and are classically positioned under the trunk or feet to perform the curl up, sit up or spinal
flexion exercises.
Comparing compound exercises and trunk
flexion exercises, Aspe et al. (2014) explored rectus abdominis muscle activity in a number of exercises including the front and overhead squat performed with 90 % of 3RM, as well as the swiss ball jack knife and straight - leg sit up.
There is certainly a place in sports conditioning for all types of integrated abdominal - hip
flexion exercises.
However, a safe, simple and effective way to for a beginner to started an abdominal program is to emphasize basic abdominal
flexion exercises such as crunches, stability ball crunches, cable crunches, hip lifts, full range knee ups and reverse crunches.
Not exact matches
Their muscle strength was measured utilising handgrip strength, three lower body
exercises such as leg extension, leg
flexion and leg press and two upper body
exercises such as chest press and seated row.
The hamstrings cross two joints — the knee joint and the hip joint — so they need to be trained with the help of
exercises that target the knee
flexion function and the hip extension function of the hamstring muscle separately.
Deemsy explained that we wouldn't be doing any crunches or reverse crunches because those types of ab
exercises require spinal
flexion, which can increase tension on the abdominal wall, causing the left and right sides to separate even more.
Hammer curls are a perfect low - intensity
exercise for building of the brachialis, which is an important muscle in the upper arm that's activated during isometric elbow
flexion.
This
exercise is about full control, extension and
flexion required to keep abs engaged rather than speed.
Being close to the deltoid muscle, the clavicular head significantly contributes to
flexion, horizontal adduction and inward rotation of the humerus, and is best engaged with
exercises which involve shoulder
flexion and movements that end with your elbows above your clavicle.
Example strengthening
exercises - Isometric hip
flexion.
Calf
Exercises work on the plantar
flexion motion because you point your toes.
Example strengthening
exercises: Standing hip
flexion using resistance band.
This is because all horizontal and vertical pressing
exercises involve extension of the elbow (the primary function of the triceps) while all horizontal and vertical pulling
exercises involve
flexion of the elbow (the primary function of the biceps).
When combined with the
flexion, extension and rotation
exercises in the DB Complex and HIIT workout, you have a very comprehensive workout plan.
In addition, it's superior to traditional leg
exercises because of the greater emphasis on the eccentric component of knee
flexion and its strong carryover to the deadlift and squat.
Lying leg curls work the hams more directly and with a more concentrated contraction than any other
exercise, and they are especially important for training the knee
flexion function of the muscle.
This
exercise trains the hamstrings» two functions simultaneously — hip extension and knee
flexion — like few other
exercises can.
So many abdominal
exercises involve hip and trunk
flexion — sit - ups, leg raises, crunches — all of them involve drawing the hips and rib cage closer together, potentially causing shortening of the hip flexors.
Well, that's the truth and that's why today I'm going to share some fitness tips on how to train smarter with the 14 best ab
exercises that strengthen and tone your core without the side effects of hip -
flexion dominant
exercises like sit - ups and crunches.
Each of these abs
exercises puts your spine in
flexion or rotation, and research has shown that rotation and
flexion are the exact movements that cause herniated discs in your low back.
The movements of
flexion, rotation, and extension are kept in check by maintaining the braced neutral position of the spine during an anti-pattern
exercise.
Flexion: Bend your body forward at the joints, such as at the waist for sit - ups or at the knees for high - step
exercises.
Plantar
flexion with a resistance band is a gentle
exercise to start with.
If you are truly dedicated in solving the problem, I would suggest 10 - 12 sets of low rep knee
flexion in the morning, and 8 - 10 sets of high rep hip extensors
exercise in the afternoon.
Hip flexors are already tight from training because many sport - specific movements and strength
exercises require
flexion and extension of the hip.
Examples of Beginner Pilates
exercises that promote hip / leg differentiation — getting a nice
flexion at the hip while keeping the pelvis stable include knee folds, single leg stretch, and leg kick front and back.
Side bends (side
flexion) are one of the best ab
exercises for the obliques.
Sagittal plane
exercises involve
flexion and extension.
Plank variations, loaded carries, and movements that require you to resist spinal
flexion, extension, or rotation are just a few examples of the types of
exercises you should be performing to strengthen your core.
This is accomplished by pairing low rep
exercises which involve torso
flexion with planking movements to increase time under tension.
When assessing maximal knee angle (
flexion), mean power output in the concentric phase a squat
exercise, and vastus lateralis EMG amplitude, the test - re-test reliability measured by the coefficient of variation (COV) ranged between 5.3 — 7.8 %, which suggests that these measurements are comparatively consistent but not perfectly replicable.
However, increases in muscle fascicle length are also likely dependent on the mechanical load incurred by the prime mover, as knee
flexion (hamstring only)
exercise seems to lead to greater adaptations in the hamstrings than hip extension (hamstring, gluteus maximus, and adductor magnus)
exercise, even when muscle length at peak contraction is shorter (Bourne et al. 2016).