In my last post, I mentioned my strong aversion to the traditional ab crunch. There are a thousand reasons for this, but one biggie is because they completely ignore an entire half of your core! The area across your hips and lower stomach is a pivotal part of the core, and a great source of power, as you can probably tell if you enjoy boxing, like I do. All those hooks and cross body jabs get their, ahem, punch from a strong and connected torso! The core lets you float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. So with that in mind, here are a couple of ways to get that lower core in tune.

1) Be a baller! That’s right, you heard me; but not a basketballer- a medicine baller! This exercise from ehow.com will help you engage those hard-to-reach lower obliques and abs. And check out the video for a modified sit-up. However, if you have back or neck issues, please don’t do this without consulting your physical therapist.

2) Crunch backwards! I may have an aversion to regular old crunches, but reverse crunches can be useful. This guide gives you a nice simple way to do them. And remember-nice and easy! Breath! Feel your abs pulling in slowly from the floor.

3) Use your brain! When you are going about your favorite everyday workout- running, ellipticalling, etc. simply think about engaging those lower abs. Feel them knitting together, and pointing inwards towards your spine. It works! But first you have to know your neutral spine- which we covered here last week.

Last but not least- as always if you are in physical therapy for an area, and any of these sound like they might conflict, consult your therapist before attempting! And! Remember to go slowly, think about what you are doing, and BREATHE!

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