The Ab Lounge machine, sometimes called an Ab Lounger, is a piece of exercise with one main purpose, to support the head and neck during abdominal jackknife crunches and its variations. Unfortunately, the design of the machine lets you use your arms and hip flexors to do most of the work, except for the torso stretch exercise. For this reason, skip the exercises that let you hold the strap or handles.
Extended Arm Jackknife
The extended arm jackknife targets the rectus abdominus muscle of the abs. Unlike the basic jackknife exercise, it does not require that you hold onto the strap or handlebar so it is much more difficult to cheat the abs out of a workout with this exercise. To begin, lie face up on the machine and extend your arms straight above your head, sliding your hands under the strap or handlebar, depending on your model. Bend your knees and place the soles of your feet on the foot rest. Next, raise your upper body as you would during a crunch. The Ab Lounge backrest supports your head and neck during the exercise.
Lateral Jackknife
The lateral jacknife does allow you to grab the handle or strap with one arm to assist in the exercise, but because your body is sideways, the hip flexors at least cannot take over. This exercise rates as an intermediate/advanced exercise in the Ab Lounge manuals but it is easy to do. Keeping your arm totally relaxed forces your oblique muscles to work to lift your torso, making this a good exercise for the side of the waist. To perform a lateral jackknife for the right oblique, lie on your left side with your head on your left arm and your knees bent, legs stacked. Grasp the strap or bar with your right hand by reaching over your head, and then raise your torso toward the ceiling in a sideways position. Turn over to work the left oblique.
Advanced Jackknife
The advanced jackknife is a more difficult version of the extended arm jackknife. Your legs rest on top of the foot rests with your knees straight instead of bent. To perform this exercise, lie face up on the Ab Lounge with your arms through the strap or under the handlebar. Press back and down slightly with your torso with your legs straight against the leg rest. Then, pike up from your hips so that your upper body and legs make a "V" shape. This works the rectus abdominus muscle.
Torso And Hip Flexor Stretch
The torso and hip flexor stretch targets the abdomen for lengthening instead of straightening. The hip flexors stretch, too. Simply lie on your back and extend your arms straight over your head with your legs straight as if to do the advanced jackknife. Next, push down and slightly arch your back. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds for the stretch to have enough time to affect the muscles for increased flexibility.
References
- Ab Lounge Owner's Manual; Fitness Quest Inc.; 2005
- Ab Lounge XL Owner's Manual; Fitness Quest Inc.; 2005
- ExRx.net: Rectus Abdominis
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