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Day
1 - Pushdown
Crunches
to the Floor
Why
Is This Exercise So Effective?
If you're looking for
an extremely intense contraction in the upper abs against resistance,
this exercise is what you need. It places the majority of its
tension on the abs in their most contracted position. It also
hits the abs with a pushing movement rather than a pulling movement.
How
To Do It:
This exercise is performed very
much like a cable crunch combined with a pushdown.
Set up this exercise by clipping
a bar attachment onto a high pulley. Stand in position as you
normally would for a pushdown. Get the bar to the bottom of
the regular pushdown position. Lean forward into the cable,
pushing your torso into the cable, setting your head either
to the left or right side of the cable so that the cable is
running down one side of your neck. This will allow you keep
your body closer to the line of resistance, minimizing torque
on the lower back.
Lock the elbows, and arch your
back a little for the start position. From this point, keep
your arms fully extended and locked out straight down then just
try and push the bar right down to the floor or as close to
it as you can get. Bend at the waist and the knees as you come
down and push it hard. Squeeze your abs hard at the bottom.
Be sure not to move your feet while doing the exercise to get
the best contraction.
Get the negative as you let your
body come up slowly, fighting the weight on the way up. Switch
the side of your head that cable is on every two or three reps
to balance the tension on your abs.
Common
Errors:
1.
Not coming down far enough
It's important to try
and push the bar if not all the way to the floor, at least as
close to it as you can. The further down you can get the bar,
the better the contraction you'll get on the abs.
2.
Not locking the elbows
This exercise, while
having the word "pushdown" in it, has really nothing
to do with a tricep pushdown. Once you're at the bottom of the
pushdown, lock your elbows and push to the ground using your abs.
3.
Standing too far away from the pulley
If you stand too far
back, the line of pull of the resistance will be at too much of
an angle rather than straight down. This will put unnecessary
torque on the lower back while not substantially increasing the
effectiveness of the exercise.
4.
Letting the weight up too quickly
Be sure to take the
movement slowly on the way up. Rather than just releasing the
tension and allowing the weight to pull your body up quickly,
try to slow it down and control the weight.
5.
Not putting your head to one side of the cable
For this exercise to
be most effective and least stressful on the lower back, you need
to let the cable run down the side of your neck. If you just keep
the cable in front of you, it puts torque on your lower back when
you start to get into heavier weights. Also, be sure to switch
sides every few reps to get a balanced workload on the abs.
Tricks:
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1.
Hitting the sides
Use a single handle instead
of a regular bar. When you push it down, bring it down to
the opposing foot. This will strongly hit the obliques.
When you get near the floor, you can go in front or behind
the foot (experiment to see which works better for you).
You can either switch hands after a few reps or you can
do an entire set on one side then an entire set on the other
side.
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2. Do a
small pulsing movement at the bottom
When you've pushed the bar close
to the floor and finished the downward movement, let it up a few
inches then push it back down. Repeat this a few times with a
short pulsing movement to really peak the contraction on the abs.
3.
Wear a dip belt to hold yourself down
If you find you're
able to use more weight for your abs on this exercise than you're
able to get into position easily because your upper body isn't
heavy enough, this trick will instantly increase your bodyweight
and anchor you down, allowing you to use far more weight on the
exercise with better form. Basically, all you need to do is wear
a dip belt loaded with 25 lb weight plates (35's and 45's are
too large and will probably hit the ground as you push down).
Hang a few of these from the belt around your waist and you can
instantly increase your body mass to allow you to use more weight
with better form.
4.
Use a short, powerful push as you get near the bottom
You can use a little
momentum and give a short, powerful push as you get near the bottom
in order to get the bar further down with heavier weight. When
you've got it further down, don't let it pop back up. Try your
best to hold it down and only let it up slowly to take full advantage
of the short push.
This exercise, when done properly,
will tighten your abs with an astonishingly intense contraction.
Only a few sets of this exercise are required to carve chiseled
definition in your midsection.
Remember, this is only the first
exercise out of the 5 FREE exercises
you'll be getting in the next few days. And those are only 5 out
of a huge 77 exercises found in "The Best Abdominal Exercises
You've Never Heard Of", all for only $29.95!
Best regards,
Nick Nilsson
Author of "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard
Of"
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