The Essence of Exercise:
Always keep one leg straight. This helps to maintain the neutral spine during the exercise which keeps spine loads lower than if both legs were bent.
Only curl up to the point where the shoulder blades just come off the floor. The pivot point is not in the low back, but in the rib cage.
Keep your head in a neutral position and pick a spot on the ceiling. Try to lift from your shoulders toward the spot on the ceiling, instead of curling down toward your feet. If it seems easy, you are probably doing something incorrectly.
For additional challenge, hold the “up” position for 5 seconds and say the count out loud. This increases the work on the spine stabilizers by forcing them to aid in breathing as well as spine stability.
Position 1:
Position 2:
