By Dr. Spencer Baron

This is so simple and so effective for conditioning and strengthening your mid section, that you’d be remiss in not adding this to your routine.
Or … if you don’t have a routine, this can be the second thing you do after waking up (the first, would be to go to the bathroom).

Why this exercise is considered the “most effective.”
While doing electromyographic testing, (a test that hooks up electrodes to the skin or where needle sensors are inserted directly into the muscle) it was found that this exercise was able to show more activity in most of the muscles of the midsection that any other exercise.

One key factor!
The same study also reveled something that no other test expressed … safety to the low back. Most “effective” abdominal exercises tend to wreck the low back, but no one seems to mention it. I praise this study for hooking up the same sensors to the muscles surrounding the lower spine, thus exposing this coveted little secret.

Speaking of “secrets,” this exercise is clearly depicted in the book, “Secrets of the Game, What Superstar Athletes Can Teach You about Health, Peak Performance and Getting Results”. Yet, while at the Miami Dolphin training facility last week, I observed a slight addition to this exercise, a barbell!

Weighted bar, abdominal crunch
Why does this sound like something to eat?
I must be hungry since “bar” and “crunch” appear to be the appetite triggers.
Anyway, holding a bar up with your arms extended can safely add resistance to the mid section. This will simultaneously provide the need to maintain balance which adds some flavor (I better eat something) to the muscles of balance. Another extremely important facet of training due to the fact that as we get older, if we don’t train for balance, we will lose it!

Here’s a quick video instruction for you: