PURPOSE OF EXERCISE: Emphasizes lower
abs.
EXECUTION: This is another version of
Reverse Crunches, only you do it
hanging by your hands from a bar or
resting on your forearms on a Hanging
Leg Raise bench instead of lying on a
bench. (1) Get into the hanging position
and bring your knees up to the level of
your abdomen. (2) From this starting
position, raise your knees up as far as
possible toward your head, rounding
your back and rolling yourself upward
into a ball. At the top of the movement,
hold and crunch the ab muscles together
for full contraction, then lower your
knees to the starting position with the
knees pulled up. Again, don’t lower your
legs beyond this starting point.
A lot of people and most
bodybuilders (because of the mass of
their legs) can’t really do Hanging
Reverse Crunches. An easier variation
is to lie head upward on a slantboard.
This gives you more resistance than
Reverse Crunches on a flat bench, but
you can dial in the amount of resistance
you want by the angle at which you set
the slantboard.
