Sit ups
Posted by terrepruitt on June 16, 2011
As with most exercises there are many modifications that can be made to a sit-up. But for now, in this Ten Minute Workout this is a basic sit-up. Probably would be called more of a crunch than a sit up, but YOU can put the amount of movement in it that you want.
Lie on the floor on your back. Knees up, feet on the floor, slight tilt of the pelvis toward your chest. Keeping an imaginary apple or orange under your chin lift your head and shoulders off the ground towards your knees. The purpose of the imaginary fruit is to keep you from collapsing your chin to your chest, especially if you are using the hands-supporting-head/neck method. With that form sometimes there is a tendency to actually push the head to the chest. But the idea is to keep space between the chin and chest and just lift your head, shoulders, and upper chest upwards and towards your knees. Squeeze your abdominal muscles on the lift and at the top. Pause for a second. Allow the movement to be smooth and fluid. If you find yourself jerking up or using momentum to do the movement, try LESS movement or fewer reps. (Yes, yes, the idea is ten of ten in ten, but it is ok to learn a move. It’s a journey we are on.)
This is one of the exercises that most of us are familiar with. This is an exercise most of us have done in our life. So this is one that is easy to play with and modify. So many ways to do it.
People might not realize or even notice but we do sit ups and or abdominal work often in Nia. But the way we do them is as a dance so I think people don’t realize what we are doing is even an abdominal exercise until the next day when they have that nice feeling of a muscle that had some attention paid to it. Nia makes it more like play than work.
Ok . . . . comment away . . . . . . 😉
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niachick said
I already told you in the my last comment how I did sit ups. They are not my favorite thing to do. I’ll have to see if I can change that! Thanks!
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terrepruitt said
Actually you said you did your version of a sit up (usually with coffee in your hand) to music, but I didn’t understand there to be a description of “your version” in there. So what is it?
Sit ups are not usually a favorite of people’s, but I believe that is because we think that we have to make this HUGE movement from flat on your back all the way up to chest touching knees, but I tend to not think that is necessary. I had a professor once who had a whole theory regarding sit ups and the core, and I tend to agree with the movement part of his theory, but that could be many blog posts.
Do you like one of Carlos’s versions of the sit up? Long Bones? I LOVE that one because in “dancing” all the other body parts sometimes you don’t realize you are doing sit ups. 🙂
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Angelia Sims said
A good core is so important for EVERYTHING. Dancing especially. You did a great job describing this so it’s easy to understand and do!
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terrepruitt said
If a good core is important to dancing can dancing help give you a good core?
Thanks, Sweetie.
How is your ankle? And your sinuses?
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