SCHEME
— Sit on the seat of the machine and place your feet under the support rollers. Cross your arms in front of your chest.
— Take a deep breath, hold your breath and slowly lower your body just below horizontal.
- From this position, using your abdominal muscles, rise to an angle of 30-60 degrees. If this is too difficult for you, straighten your body vertically.
- Exhale.
- Pause for a moment at the top point of the amplitude, inhale and do the next repetition.
- Avoid jerking. The pace of the exercise is slow.
NOTES
- To get the most out of the exercise, lower your body slightly below horizontal. This causes your spine to arch outward (scientifically called hyperextension). During hyperextension, the abdominal muscles are stretched and stretched. Due to this stretching, they contract more fully during the positive phase of the repetition.
- You can’t bend your spine too much. Otherwise, traumatic tension will arise in the lumbar spine. Pinched nerve endings and herniated discs are possible. The risk of injury increases many times over if the exercise is unfamiliar to you.
— Sometimes they sit in the exercise machine so that the seat falls somewhere in the middle of the thighs, and the pelvis is suspended. This option is supposedly more effective. Well, in fact, everything is just the opposite. If you sit tightly on your buttocks, then the body bends in the lumbar region. And it is the abdominal muscles that are responsible for this movement. In another variant, when the pelvis is suspended, flexion occurs at the hip joint. Well, this flexion is provided by the hip flexors and a small lower section of the rectus abdominis muscle. As a result, the press does not receive serious load.
— It is not recommended to perform the exercise with a heavy weight plate on your chest. The biomechanics of movement is such that the abs are already under a lot of stress. More than traditional crunches. In addition, additional weights for a number of anatomical reasons will involve the deep hip flexor muscles in the work. And this is completely useless. In response to the load, the flexor muscles increase their tone and shorten. As a result, distorting vectors appear inside the hip joints, and it all ends with aching pain in the lower back.
— Since the Roman chair cannot be adjusted, it is not suitable for tall athletes. Their seat is in the middle of their thighs, and this devalues the exercise and makes it dangerous for injury.
— As you know, the abdominal muscles and hip flexors work together, helping each other. However, in this exercise the flexors tense statically and transfer the entire load to the press. And vice versa, if the pelvis is suspended, the flexors work dynamically, and the abdominal muscles perform static work. It is clear that this deprives the exercise of any meaning. It is worth talking in detail about the dynamics of interaction between the abs and flexors. The press lifts the body to an angle of 30-60 degrees, and then the flexors lift the body. So lifting the body vertically is not only unnecessary, but also harmful.
ANATOMY
The Roman chair crunch primarily engages the rectus abdominis, as well as the internal and external obliques. The relatively long and flat rectus muscle stretches vertically down along the abdominal wall from the lower ribs to the pubic crest. Its right and left halves are separated by the so-called linea alba - a thin tendon strip. Three transverse tendon stripes form the same six “squares” that look so impressive with proper development of the abs. The internal and external oblique muscles cover the abdominal cavity from the sides and partly from the front. The fibers of the external oblique muscles stretch diagonally upward and to the sides, forming the Latin letter “V”. The fibers of the internal oblique muscles, located directly below the external ones, in the upper and middle regions of the abdomen diverge almost at right angles and form an inverted “V”. In the lower abdomen, the fibers of the internal oblique muscles are located almost horizontally.
The hip joint uses the psoas, iliacus, pectineus, and rectus femoris muscles. Because the psoas and iliacus tendons attach to the femur at the same location, they are collectively called the iliopsoas muscle. The rectus femoris muscle runs along the front of the thigh, crosses the hip joint, and partially covers the short, thick pectineus muscle just below the groin.
WORK OF MUSCLES AND JOINTS
The upper abdominals and hip flexors are responsible for flexing the spine and hip joint, respectively. By bending the spine, the abdominal muscles bring the shoulders towards the legs. Your body bends at the waist. At the same time, the hip flexors contract isometrically. After the abdominal muscles have fully contracted and raised the body to an angle of 30-60 degrees, they “switch” to isometric contraction, and the further movement of the body (to the vertical) is performed by the hip flexors. They begin to contract concentrically. When the hip flexors contract, the “pivot axis” is the hip joint.
SPORT
Roman chair crunches perfectly develop the abdominal wall, making it flat, defined and sculpted; no wonder it is very popular among professional bodybuilders. Strong abs (along with strong lumbar erector muscles) play a key role in preventing back injuries and damage. This exercise is widely used in all sports that require reliable stabilization of the spine; It is also used by athletes who have to lift their legs frequently, such as martial artists and gymnasts. In general, the abdominal muscles and hip flexors work in American football, javelin throwing, serving in tennis, heading and throw-in in football, as well as during the “extinguishing” blow in volleyball. Very strong abdominal muscles and hip flexors are essential for swimmers, especially freestyle and butterfly swimmers.
Incline Bench Crunch (Roman Chair)- This is a basic abdominal exercise that is considered one of the most effective for the rectus abdominis muscle, especially with additional weight. It is suitable for absolutely everyone: from beginners to experienced athletes. You can easily change the angle of the bench, thereby changing the degree of load. Crunches on an incline bench (Roman chair) can be used at the beginning of a workout as a warm-up, or performed at the end of a workout as a final exercise.
Initial position
Set the angle of the incline bench for yourself; the higher it is, the more difficult it is to perform the exercise. The recommended tilt angle is 30-40 degrees. Sit on an inclined bench (Roman chair), with your feet between the bolsters. The difficulty of performing the exercise depends on the position of the hands. Beginners can hold on to the bench with their hands and help themselves while rising. The next option is to cross your arms over your chest. For more advanced ones, place your hands behind your head.
Starting position - the body is in a vertical position, the arms are positioned based on the level of training. Curl up in your stomach area.
Technique for performing crunches on an inclined bench (Roman chair)
As you inhale, begin to lower your torso back to an almost horizontal position, while it should be in a twisted state. That is, the press is tense all the time. There is no need to lower it lower, as the hip joints will be involved in the work and back injuries are possible. Stay horizontal for a second. As you exhale, begin twisting. A crunch is when you bend with your abdominal muscles rather than lifting up through your hip joints. Twist as much as possible, lifting your body toward your knees. Tighten your abs and finally exhale. Repeat the exercise, lowering your body moderately.
Execution options
- You can pump up your oblique abdominal muscles by doing crunches on an incline bench. Add body rotations while twisting. Curl with your right elbow toward your left knee and your left elbow toward your right knee.
- To intensively work the rectus abdominis muscle, you will need an assistant. At the lowest point, have an assistant put his hands on your shoulders and hold your body. You have to twist as hard as you can on the Roman chair. It is necessary to hold you by the shoulders for 2-3 seconds.
- If the torso is not completely lowered, the entire load falls on the upper part of the abs, and all other muscles receive a static load, a rather complex option.
- Note that this exercise, like all crunches, requires you to hunch your back to work your abs.
- Do not rise with a straight back.
- By holding the body in a horizontal position, the press is worked out faster and better.
- For advanced exercises, place a barbell plate on your chest. For the more advanced - behind the head.
- It is not recommended to lower yourself completely, because there will be a large rush of blood to the head, which will greatly strain the vessels of the head and increase the chance of a stroke.
- The exercise loads the back. It should not be performed with heavy weight and for people with back injuries, as lumbar lardosis increases.
- People who have had injuries or back diseases should carefully perform twisting exercises. It is even possible that a hernia may occur if the technique is incorrect.
- If it is difficult to curl up in the abdominal area, set the angle to less than 45 degrees.
Today we will talk about such a wonderful exercise that is performed in a Roman chair, it is called lifting the torso.
Apart from the fact that trained abdominal muscles are very impressive in the anatomy and very attractive, they have physiological benefits, being muscle stabilizers, performing various types of movements and performing exercises in the gym. Take the same rectus abdominis muscle, which is part of the muscle corset, which in turn supports the human internal organs and the lumbar spine. Lifting the body on a Roman chair is one of the main and most effective exercises for training the abdominal muscles, as it allows you to increase the range of motion, unlike simple twists. This exercise will help you.
HOW TO PUSH YOUR ABS ON A ROMAN CHAIR (TECHNIQUES OF EXERCISE)?
1.Take your starting position by sitting on the seat. Rest your shins on the special foot bolsters (as shown in the picture). Place your hands on your chest and keep your legs straight. This will be your starting position.
2.Before starting the exercise, take a deep breath, hold your breath and lower your torso down. Lower your torso until it is just below hip level (almost parallel to the floor).
3.After reaching the bottom point, slowly lift your torso while simultaneously doing a twist. When lifting, gradually exhale after overcoming a difficult section.
4.Complete the intended number of repetitions. The exercise should be performed slowly and smoothly, without jerking.
TIPS FOR PERFORMING TORSO RAISES ON A ROMAN CHAIR
1. Do not lower your torso very low. This causes a large arch in the lower back and the back receives a large load, which can lead to injury.
2. Also, do not keep your back straight when you do the sit-up. Be sure to twist your back while doing regular crunches. This way you will avoid unnecessary stress on your lower back.
3. The correct position of the pelvis in this exercise plays a very important role. To avoid injuries, increased stress on the lumbar region, etc., you should take the correct position. The correct position is when the pelvis rests completely on the seat, then the target muscles will be loaded, and it will be easier to bend the spine.
4. I would not recommend using additional weights to complicate the exercise, at least for beginners. Since exercises on a Roman chair already have a greater amplitude than regular crunches on the floor, additional weights will also complicate the work. In this case, the hip flexor muscles will be involved in the work, and the load on the abdominal muscles will weaken.
This exercise is for working the abdominal muscles; if you have problems such as diastasis, you cannot do it.
— Sit on the seat and secure your feet under the support bolsters. At this time, the arms are crossed on the chest.
— Take a deep breath, hold your breath and smoothly lower your body below the horizontal position.
- From this position, use your abdominal muscles to rise to an angle of 30-60 degrees. If this is too hard for you, straighten your body vertically.
- Exhale.
— Hold for a second at the top point of the amplitude, inhale and perform the next repetition.
— When performing, jerking is unacceptable. A slow pace is maintained.
Explanations
- To perform this exercise as effectively as possible, the body should be lowered slightly below horizontal. In this case, hyperextension occurs, that is, the spine bends outward. At the same time, the abdominal muscles are stretched and stretched, pumping is carried out more fully.
- Do not arch the spine too much, this can lead to traumatic stress in the spine, which can cause pinched nerve endings and a herniated disc.
- Very often they sit in the exercise machine so that the pelvis is suspended. In this case, flexion occurs in the hip joint, and the press receives less load in this regard.
- It is not recommended to perform this exercise with a heavy weight plate on your chest. This will not bring a positive result, since the press already receives sufficient load. But this will allow you to engage the hip flexor muscles, which will shorten when receiving this load. Ultimately, all this will end in aching pain in the lower back.
- The Roman chair, due to the lack of customization options, is practically unsuitable for tall athletes. The seat will be located in the middle of the thighs, which makes this exercise not only ineffective, but also dangerous.
What does it affect?
The Roman chair crunch primarily targets the rectus abdominis muscle, as well as the internal and oblique muscles. They cover the abdominal cavity from the sides and partly from the front. The fibers of the external oblique muscles stretch horizontally upward and to the sides, forming the Latin letter “V”. Three transverse tendon stripes form the very “cubes” that look impressive with sufficient pumping of the abs.
). Many of them are considered ineffective, and some are completely useless. As for crunches, many fitness trainers agree on one thing: lateral crunches on a Roman chair perfectly train the abdominal muscles and help achieve good relief for both beginners and professionals.
The key load in this exercise falls on the rectus abdominis muscle and. Also, lateral twists on a Roman chair actively involve the iliopsoas muscle in the work. To properly develop all these muscle groups, let's start with the crunching technique.
Technique
- Carefully sit on the exercise machine so that your fifth point is tightly adjacent to the seat. Place your feet behind the special bolsters and make sure that they are in the most stable position. Cross your arms and keep your legs slightly bent at the knees. In the starting position, the torso should be perpendicular to the plane of the chair.
- Take a deep breath and hold your breath. Gently lower your torso so that it is just below the level of your legs.
- Tighten your abdominal muscles and lift your shoulders up so that they are 45-65° above your hips. When you reach the highest point, exhale.
- Reverse Roman chair crunches are almost done. All that remains is to tense your abs and carefully lower your body down.
Number of repetitions
Do it 3-5 sets of 15-25 reps if your goal is to dry out and remove excess fat. For those seeking to increase abdominal muscles, it is necessary to do 3-4 sets with weights, 5-7 repetitions every. It is optimal to perform crunches on a machine on the day of abdominal muscle training.
- It's great if your lower back is in good shape, but for those who pay little attention to it, the Roman chair exercise can be traumatic. To strengthen your lower back and reduce the risk of injury, we recommend doing this regularly. This exercise perfectly works the muscular corset of the belt and will allow you not to be afraid of injury while performing twisting or.
- When lifting up, your back should under no circumstances remain straight like a sword. Quite the opposite: bending your back towards your legs will help distribute the load as it should.
- Use additional weights with extreme caution and do not push for heavy weights. A barbell plate that is too heavy can increase the risk of serious injury during the exercise.
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