Superman



This exercise focuses on the lower back. There is a couple of different versions or ways to do this exercise. Start out by laying flat on your stomach with your arms out in front of you and your legs straight back like a pencil. Then in a controlled motion raise your arms and legs off the ground so all your weight is resting on your chest area. When you lift your arms they should be straight out in front of you like your flying (get it like superman). When you lift your legs they should be straight back and you should be squeezing your glutes. You should feel the burn in lower back as your lower back muscles contract to hold your arms and legs off the ground. At this point you could make this a static or a repetition based exercise. For rep based hold the up position for 2 to 3 seconds, lower back down, and then repeat. The static version (the one I prefer) you simply hold the up position for a set time period, 30 to 60 seconds. When doing the static version, if you find yourself struggling a bit towards the end you can bring your arms in a bit to reduce the weight load on your lower back muscles.
Now if your new to core workouts and are unsure of your lower back strength you can alternate between just raising your arms off the ground and just raising your legs off the ground. Do a rep where you just raise your arms off the ground, hold it for 2 to 3 seconds, and then lower them back down. Next rep raise your legs off the ground, hold it for 2 to 3 seconds, and then lower them back down. 

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