Hurry up to learn the technique of doing ab exercises that will forever get rid of fat and allow you to enjoy the cherished abs cubes. When doing a crunch in bodybuilding, you not only load the flat abdominal muscle, but also stretch it. The exercise can be performed while standing or in a sitting position using various handles. This will allow you to shift the focus to the areas of the abs that are needed by the athlete.
Many athletes probably know that the abs is just one muscle that is separated by tendons. It is their presence that gives the press the appearance of cubes. They can become visible with sufficient development of the rectus abdominis muscle and the absence of subcutaneous fat. Thus, you cannot separately train different parts of the press, but thanks to the twisting on the block in bodybuilding, you can shift the emphasis.
Also, with the help of this exercise, unlike others used for pumping the press, you can easily progress the load. In most movements aimed at training the flat muscle of the abdomen, increasing the load is not possible or it negatively affects the spinal column. For this reason, it will be much easier for you to achieve hypertrophy by performing crunches on the block.
Technique for performing twists on the block
When performing the exercise, the entire load will be distributed between the press and the extensors of the back. The athlete needs to shift the focus to the abs. The easiest way to achieve this is by limiting the amplitude. However, this will not stretch the muscles and should only be used on the last reps. It is at this time that your muscles are on the verge of failure and it is already difficult to control their work.
An equally important factor in the effectiveness of the exercise is the position of the pelvis, which should be unchanged throughout the entire set. When performing the movement, only the hip joint works. Considering that the simulator is used, there is no need to fear for it, since there is no axial load, and the joint will not be injured.
But this does not mean at all that you can skip the warm-up, but only means the possibility of the progression of the load without fear of injury. At the same time, the technique is very important and now we will talk about it:
- When performing the exercise in a standing position, you need to stand near the simulator at a distance that will be as comfortable as possible.
- If you are going to do the exercise on your knees, you will have to adjust the cables and use different handles.
- The pelvis must be slightly pulled back, and the head must be lowered down. Bring the elbow joints forward, pressing your hands to your forehead and turning your palms towards you.
- Controlling the movement, begin to twist the body downward, trying to reach the groin area with the forehead.
- Slowly return to starting position and stretch slightly upward. This will help you stretch your abdominal muscles.
Practical recommendations for performing twists on the block
Your breathing should be even. Inhale while doing the negative phase, and exhale while twisting. In this case, one should not twist the body very strongly and it is quite enough to achieve maximum muscle contraction.
When doing a standing crunch, the center of gravity should be at the heels and outside of the feet, and the knees should be slightly bent. If you are on your knees, then your legs should be clenched, and you should rest against the ground with your knee joints and toes. The knee joints should form a right angle. If you do not feel the target muscles working, then you are most likely using a large working weight. In this case, the optimal solution would be to reduce it and restart the exercise.
Surely everyone will agree that the abs are one of the most important parts of the body in terms of aesthetics. Of course, quality is of particular importance, not muscle mass. You should know that the abs are made up of the superficial, lateral, and internal muscles. When doing crunching on the block in bodybuilding, you primarily load the flat muscle of the abdomen, on which the volume of the press depends.
This muscle is surrounded by a network of tendons, which in the future will form the desired cubes. Their size directly depends on the degree of flat muscle hypertrophy. However, with a large amount of subcutaneous fat in the abdomen, your abs will simply be indistinguishable, no matter how strongly it is developed. Thus, first of all, you should take care of burning excess fat.
You can use this exercise not only during mass gain, but also during drying. In the second case, this will allow you to reduce fat deposits located in the waist area. At the same time, when working on a mass, you will achieve hypertrophy of the rectus abdominis muscle and thereby increase its size.
When your goal is mass, it is advisable to perform crunches on the block in bodybuilding at the beginning of the session. This will warm up the entire body and prepare it for the upcoming hard work with other muscle groups. If you dry, then do the exercise in the final phase of the session. Thanks to this, a large amount of blood will begin to flow into the abdomen, creating a pumping effect. This will significantly speed up the processes of lipolysis in the abdominal area.
As mentioned above, you must first master the technique and only after that start to progress the load. Although crunches on the block are quite simple movements from a technical point of view, some nuances still exist and we have already talked about them a little higher. The abdominal workout is simple enough and the flat muscle of the abdomen responds well to training. Considering that by using the block, you have the opportunity to easily progress the load, you will be able to achieve your goal even faster. The exercise is very effective and you will quickly see it for yourself.
For more information on curls on the block, see here:
