Standing Overhead Circles (also known as ceiling circles or upper body circles) is a functinal full body standing abs exercise. It primarily mobilizes and strengthens all the muscles around the midsection. Such as abdominal wall and lower back. Legs, shoulders, chest, upper back activates as well as a secondary muscle groups.

It is a low impact ab exercise. Beginners can use it to develope a mind-muscle connection. Which will enable them to take a control over their core better and activate the abdominal muscles on a demand. On the other hand more experienced individuals can include this exercise in a warm up, stretching and cool down routines.

Either way if all the effort is put to comply the exercise with the maximum amplitude, it will challenge each and every one.

Strong abs and healthy lower back will improve the performance of different physical activities and protect from lower back injuries. Everyone requiring spinal mobility and strong core will benefit from this exercise. Standing Overhead Circles is suitable for everyone regardless of the level of fitness.

STANDING OVERHEAD CIRCLES VIDEO DEMONSTRATION

BENEFITS:

• Low impact abs exercise.
• No equipment needed. You can do it anytime, anywhere.
• No stain or discomfort for the neck.
• Improves core strength and spinal support.
• Facilitates the execution of different physical tasks and activities.

HOW TO DO STANDING OVERHEAD CIRCLES:

Stand tall with your feet about shoulder width apart or little bit wider. Slightly bend the knees. Place your arms straight over head and retract the scapula. Inhale, suck your belly in and embrace the abs.

To begin the exercise start rotating your torso in a circle while keeping your lower body stationary. Move your upper body from the hips up only. Perform controlled and smooth movements. Slowly exhale as you circle.

Keep your back as straight as possible throughout the whole exercise.

If that helps, imagine you are drawing circles on the ceiling with your hands while your lower body is buried in the ground. Your arms and torso moves as a one unit. Draw as large circles as you physically can.

Keep rotating until you reach a desired number of repetitions. Then switch the direction and repeat the same number of repetition to the other side. Alternatively you can switch the direction on each rep.

TIPS:

• If it is hard to keep your hands against each other, interlock your fingers. Interlocking will take some shoulder, upper chest and upper back muscle activation away though.
• If needed press inside of your arms against the ears. That will ensure your arms are standing still. You need to rotate with your torso not your arms.
• To increase the difficulty try holding a dumbbell or any other weighed object in your hands. To decrease the difficulty, lower down your arms or rest them on your hips.
• To challenge your balance more, put your feet closer.
• Avoid hyper extending and excessively flexing your spine during the exercise. If you feel discomfort in your lower back, stop the exercise and consult your physician.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE STANDING ABS EXERCISES:

1. Standing Side Bends (low impact ab exercise for the obliques).
2. Quick Standing Oblique Twists (high intensity).
3. Standing Crunches (low impact ab exercise for Transverse Abdominis).
4. Prayer Squat Twists (engages more lower back and legs).
5. Bodyweight Wood Chop (intense, works more low back and shoulders).

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High Knees Twists is an intensive cardio type standing abs exercise. This exercise is similair to a regular high knees exercise (also known as run in place, sprinting on spot), but there is a twist. Literally. This variation of high knees is designed to put more your abodominal muscles to work. Especially the obliques by twisting your torso side to side.

This exercise will not only attack your abs, but will destroy a crazy amount of calories due to the extremely high intensity and mass of muscles involved in the movement. Furthermore, you’ll develope strength and endurance of your legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors and calves). You can expect improvements in speed, stability, agility and power.

So if you are looking to trim down the waisline without bulking up while developing functional core strength for sports and everyday tasks, high knees twists surely is one of the best choices out of all standing ab exercises. High knees exercise suits as serious athletes as well as new moms and everyone in between.

HIGH KNEES TWISTS VIDEO DEMONSTRATION:

BENEFITS:

• Elevates heart rate and maximizes calorie burn.
• No equipment needed. You can do it anytime, anywhere.
• Discreet on lower back and neck.
• Improves speed, stability, agility and power. As well as strength and cardio vascular endurance.

HOW TO DO HIGH KNEES TWISTS:

Stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart or closer. Make fists and place your arms bent in front of you at about chin height. Engage your abs.

Start running in place. Bring your knees towards your chest as high as possible. Each time you bring the knee up, twist your torso to the corresponding side so your knee comes up directly between your elbows.

Simultaneously crunch your upper body to shorten the distance between the knee and the fists. Exhale rapidly during this part of the movement. Inhale quickly right after while twisting to the other side.

Let your foot touch the ground for only a half a second before switching back to the other leg. Move quickly but smoothly until you have completed all the repetitions or reached the time limit.

TIPS:

• Before attempting this exercise make sure you are richly warmed up. Don’t start your workout immediately with this exercise.
• Perform the exercise as fast as you can to maximize calorie burn. Never compromise your form though.
• Work on a correct breathing pattern. Don’t hold your breath otherwise you’ll fatigue faster or get lightheaded.
• Push off and land soft on front third of your foot.
• To increase the resistance use ankle weights.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE STANDING ABS EXERCISES:

1. Standing Knee Raises (similair, but less intense).
2. Single Leg Sprint (intense).
3. Standing Cross Crunches.
4. Bodyweight wood chop.

The post High Knees Twists appeared first on Abs Experiment.

Standing Foot Grab is a functional bodyweight ab exercise for a comprehensive core development targeting upper abs, lower abs, obiques and many more important muscles. Such as legs, hips, back and shoulders.

This standing abs exercise will help to improve your core strength, stability, balance, coordination and agility. Due to the large amount of muscles involved in the movement, it helps to burn much more calories than you would with regular abdominal exercises done on a mat.

Unlike other similar standing abs exercises, this exercise puts abdominal muscles under tension for a longer period of time. That means that the total amount of work placed on the muscles is greater. Thereof this exercise challenges your abs like no other.

Standing Foot Grab exercise suits everyone looking for a functional and toned midsection. Starting with new moms and ending with serious athletes. All will benefit from the exercise.

STANDING FOOT GRAB VIDEO DEMONSTRATION

BENEFITS:

• Provides tension for abdominal muscles for a longer period of time than other standing abs exercises.
• Improves core strength, stability, balance, coordination and agility.
• No equipment needed. You can do it anytime, anywhere.
• Burns more calories than other ab exercises done on the mat.
• No strain and pull on the neck or lower back.

HOW TO DO STANDING FOOT GRAB:

Get in a starting position. Step backwards with a right leg. Lean slightly forward and position most of your bodyweight on the front leg. Make sure that the front knee doesn’t go past the toes to avoid unnecessary load on a knee joint. Raise both arms up and engage the core.

To begin the exercise quickly lift the right knee up. Bring the knee as close to your chest as possible by tucking your pelvis. Simultaneously crunch your upper body down and grab your foot. Hold it for a brief moment. Forcefully and fully exhale during this part of the movement.

Let go your foot and return back to the starting position. Inhale on the way back. Then repeat the movement for a desired number of repetitions or until your muscles fatigue and you no longer can execute quality repetitions.

TIPS:

• When lifting the knee up focus on squeezing the lower abs intentionally to avoid hip flexors doing all the work.
• Use ankle weights to increase the resistance for your lower abs. Or do Standing Single Leg V-ups exercise.
• If you can’t reach your foot, grab the knee instead. Or do Standing Knee Raises exercise.
• If you find hard time holding your arms raised up, take it as sign that you need to strengthen your shouders and upper back and work on your flexibility as well.

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Standing Cross Crunches (also known as standing knee to elbow crunches, cross body crunch or simply crisscross) is a terrific standing abs exercise for developing functional and chiseled midsection. Especially great for building up obliques and curving the sidelines of the abs.

This exercise will improve the balance, coordination and postural support as well as many more important muscles are involved in the movement. When compared to other standard lying ab exercises, this will help to burn more calories in the same time. Thereof Standing Cross Crunches are a good fit for training routines that are meant to maximize calorie burning.

Everyone from beginners and new moms to advanced athletes who care about a functionality of their body will find Standing Cross Crunches beneficial. Especially if the core is used for rotational maneuvers vastly.

The exercise may improve the performance of the every day tasks and activities such as dancing, golfing, fighting and many other.

STANDING CROSS CRUNCHES VIDEO DEMONSTRATION

BENEFITS:

• Discreet on lower back and neck.
• Burns more calories than other ab exercises done lying on the floor.
• No equipment needed. You can do it anytime, anywhere.
• Won’t get your abs bulky.
• Improves balance, coordination and postural support.

HOW TO DO STANDING CROSS CRUNCHES:

Stand tall with your feet little wider than the shoulder-width apart. Shift the body weight on the right leg and place your left leg on the tiptoes slightly backwards. Raise your right arm straight up. Engage the abs. This will be your starting position.

To begin the exercise twist your body and bring your right elbow down and across your body. At the same time lift your left knee up as high as you can across your body to meet the right elbow. Fully exhale during this part of the motion.

Return back to the starting position while inhaling on the way back. Repeat the movement for a desired number of reps; switch sides and repeat on the other side.

TIPS:

• To activate more oblique muscles perform slow and controlled movements. Try to really squeeze the abs.
• To increase the resistance use ankle weights and dumbbells.
• To work more on your balance don’t put the leg you are raising back on the floor.
• You can keep your free arm on the hips if you like.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE STANDING ABS EXERCISES:

1. Standing Bicycle Crunch
2. Standing Side Crunches
3. Static Lunge Ab Twist
4. Sumo Oblique Crunch
5. Prayer Squat Twists

The post Standing Cross Crunches appeared first on Abs Experiment.

Standing crunches (also known as standing ab crunches or standing bodyweight crunches) is a low impact abs exercise for developing mind-muscle connection. This is a great ab exercise for training the ability to contract the abdominal muscles properly. Useful for those who are just starting out or are in a process of recovery.

This standing abs exercise is more functional than the regular crunches usually done lying on the floor. This standing variation of the exercise is more neck and lower back friendly as well. There is no strain and pull on the neck and back. Thereof poeple who usually experience pain and discomfort in their neck and back when training abs will find this variation as a relief.

Standing crunches are suitable for everyone regardless of the level of fitness. Beginners, new moms and everyone who can’t get down to and up from the floor easily will find this exercise the most beneficial.

STANDING CRUNCHES VIDEO DEMONSTRATION

BENEFITS:

• No discomfort for the lower back and the neck.
• No equipment necessary. You can do Standing Crunches anywhere, anytime.
• Helps to develope muscle-mind connection.
• Suitable for those who can’t lie down and get up from the floor easily.

HOW TO DO STANDING CRUNCHES:

Stand tall with your feet about shoulder width apart. Place your arms behind your head with the elbows poining to the sides. “Suck in” the navel closer to the spine and engage the abs. This will be your starting position.

To begin the exercise crunch your upper body down while fully exhaling. Intentionally squeeze the abs. Allow your upper back to round while avoiding any movement in the lower back. Imagine that you have a string attached from the shoulders to the hips which suddenly starts to shorten. The crunching move is very short and shouldn’t be exaggerated.

Now while keeping your abs contracted, return back to a standing position. Inhale on your way up. Go directly into the next repetition without releasing your abdominal muscles. Repeat the movement for the desired count of repetitions.

TIPS:

• Perform slow and controlled movements.
• Tuck your butt under (create a posterior pelvic tilt) to add the extra squeeze to the abdominal muscles.
• To make sure you are not rounding your back too much, perform the exercise with your heels and back against the wall.
• To make this exercise more challenging use a resistance band or a cable machine.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE AB EXERCISES:

1. Standing Bicycle Crunch
2. Standing Side Crunches
3. Standing Straight Leg Side Raise Crunches
4. Standing Bodyweight Side Bends

The post Standing Crunches appeared first on Abs Experiment.