A Thighs-to-knees Ab Exercise

The "hand glide" crunch exercise involves movement from your thighs to your knees to help target and train your abdominal muscles. Your abdominals are important in maintaining proper posture and help keep your midsection looking trim and defined. Core strength also improves your sense of balance and body control. This type of crunch is also beneficial for young or inexperienced lifters who may struggle with exercise form.

How to Perform

To perform the "hand glide" crunch, sit on the ground and lean back so that your back and shoulder blades are against the ground. Your knees should be bent at 45 degrees, with your feet also flat on the ground and next to each other. Place your right hand flat against your right thigh and your left hand flat against left thigh. Lift your shoulder blades off of the mat and glide your hands toward your knees by contracting your abdominal muscles. Once your hands touch your knees, hold for a brief moment and then slowly lower your shoulder blades back toward the ground.

Training

You can perform the "hand glide" crunch daily to help train your abdominal muscles. Inexperienced lifters should perform five sets of 10 repetitions per set while concentrating on maintaining proper form throughout the lift. As you improve, you can add one extra crunch to each repetition. Over time, you should be able to perform five sets of 20 repetitions per set. Rest between each set should be as short as possible; however, beginners may need as long as two minutes to recover between sets.

Tips

Make sure you breathe in prior to the upward movement of each rep and breathe out as your hands glide up toward your knees. Proper breathing technique is important because it ensures blood and oxygen are flowing to the working muscles. Keep your eyes fixed at a point just above your knees during the lift. This will ensure that your neck stays in a neutral position and prevent you from using your neck muscles to assist you with the lift.

Considerations

Not all individuals can safely perform the thighs-to-knees abdominal crunch. Women in the late stages of pregnancy and individuals who have recently had abdominal surgery should avoid the "hand glide" crunch until they have received permission from their doctor.

Although this crunch is perfect for beginners, it may not provide enough of a challenge for more experienced weightlifters. When you can perform five sets of 20 repetitions easily, you should seek out more difficult abdominal exercises to train your core.