30 Day Abs and Squats Challenge

30 Day Abs and Squats Challenge

Sit-ups

Step 1

Lie on your back. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor or mat. Position your heels about 1 to 1 1/2 feet in front of your tailbone. Place your fingertips behind your head or cross your arms on your chest.

Step 2

Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Exhale then tighten your abs and curl up toward your bent knees. Do not pull on your neck. Keep your head in line with your spine, tilting your chin forward slightly as you come up.

Note: Download the table at the end of this post.

Navigate between the pages to continue reading!

1. Lie down with your back flat to the floor.

2. Elevate your feet so your knees are at a 90-degree angle to your body. It may be easier to rest your feet on a chair, or keep them on the floor and just bend your knees.

3. Cross your hands in front of your chest. For more advanced crunches, put your hands behind your head, but with the fingertips lightly touching the head, not clasping the head or neck.

4. Make sure there is a fist’s worth of space between your chin and chest.

5. Draw your belly button in to the base of your spine.

6. Sit up until your elbows or chest reach your knees. Be careful to use abdominal rather than back, leg or neck muscles.

7. Exhale as you sit up. Inhale as you lie down.

1. Stand with feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, hips stacked over knees, and knees over ankles.

2. Roll the shoulders back and down away from the ears. Note: Allowing the back to round (like a turtle’s shell) will cause unnecessary stress on the lower back. It’s important to maintain a neutral spine throughout the movement.

3. Extend arms out straight so they are parallel with the ground, palms facing down (like your hands are on someone’s shoulders at a 7th grade dance). Or, if it’s more comfortable, pull elbows close to the body, palms facing each other and thumbs pointing up.

4. Initiate the movement by inhaling and unlocking the hips, slightly bringing them back. Keep sending hips backward as the knees begin to bend.

5. While the butt starts to stick out, make sure the chest and shoulders stay upright, and the back stays straight. Keep the head facing forward with eyes straight ahead for a neutral spine.

6. The best squats are the deepest ones your mobility allows. Optimal squat depth would be your hips sinking below the knees (again, if you have the flexibility to do so comfortably). Pro tip:Squatting onto a box until the butt gently taps it will be a reminder to squat low.

7. Engage core and, with bodyweight in the heels, explode back up to standing, driving through heels. Imagine the feet are spreading the floor (left foot to the left, right foot to the right) without actually moving the feet.

Original article and pictures take popcane.com site