7 Ways to Love Crunches and Situps Again
Do you hate crunches and situps? For most people, the answer is yes. However, according to one expert, there is an easy trick to reversing your disdain for these exercise moves. Andrea Simulus is a 42-year-old Body Composition Coach and social media influencer who is "building" her "goal body" with low-impact strength. In a new Instagram post, she reveals how to "Stop Hating Crunches & Sit-ups!" once and for all.
Use a Bosu Ball, She Says
According to Andrea, the secret is using a Bosu ball. "Bosu not only makes them spine friendly, but perfect for building strength and improving core stability," she writes, demonstrating it in a video. "Notice how my hips are angled inward and my core 'tucked' or held tight. This is the key to more strength because you are keeping your core under constant tension the entire rep range!"
Do This Ab Workout on the Ball
She recommends doing three rounds of 6 exercises on the ball. "Should these moves be too easy, do this routine the day after 'hard core' day to fail before 10 reps," she says.
1️⃣ Seated Crunch Alternating Lifts
2️⃣ Seated Crunch March
3️⃣ Seated Crunch Pulse In & Out Vs
4️⃣ Dumbbell Sit-Up
5️⃣ Sit-up Marches
6️⃣ Twisting Sit-up
Start Heavy Lifting
In another post, she explains how heavy lifting is the key to looking tone. "You need more muscle to look & stay tone," she writes. Even if you've exercised for 20 years… even if you think you have muscle hiding under that last 10lbs of body fat…. most of you don't have the muscle size to give your body shape. A firmer sculpted look after 40 heavily relies on muscle mass which rapidly declines each decade if we aren't lifting." She isn't recommending to completely "quit all Barre, HIIT and cardio," but instead to "adjust your training week to ADD short blocks of heavy lifts focused on either upper or lower body! Lifting where you are just standing there, not jumping around or doing sit-ups at the same time."
Why Heavy Lifting Works
She explains that heavy lifting "will jump start your visible muscle growth" for two reasons. The first? "Heavier lifts recruit more muscle fibers to perform & help break past growth plateaus," she says. And the second, "Reaching muscle breakdown takes less time… you could do in 4-7 Reps what you do in 15-20 with light weights – or never as you progress."
Related: The Secret Exercise Trick to Keep Off Weight After Ditching the Diet Pills, According to Science
And in Terms of Diet, Eat Less Processed Foods and More Frequent, Nutrient Dense Meals
In another video, she explains why ditching processed food is key to building muscle. "Burning fat is essentially eating fewer calories than you burn. However, if you start skipping meals, start eating processed carbohydrates that spike your blood sugar, what's going to happen is you're going to get those intense cravings, you're going to have dips in your energy levels," she says. "It'll be much harder to reach your goals. So instead, you need to eat more frequent meals and skip the white rice, processed bread, processed products, and add more high fiber nutrient-dense foods to your diet."
💪🔥Body Booster: If you hate doing ab work, invest in a Bosu ball, which will help stabilize your back during crunches and situps.
