Raising the body from a prone position is classified as additional. This is an isolated traction occupation of an open circuit, which involves the work of an athlete with only his own body weight. To perform it, an initial level of training is required at a minimum, which does not exclude the inclusion of a body lift from a lying position in the bodybuilders program with an advanced level of body pumping.
When performing this exercise, the abdominal, sternocleidomastoid, front dentate, rhomboid and lower trapeziform muscles work as a mobilizing and stabilizing muscle groups. Therefore, raising the body from the prone position is standardly included in the program for the development of abdominal muscles.
Exercise can be performed in two basic positions of the legs. In both cases, the body is raised from a prone position with legs bent at the knees, however, depending on the level of training, the feet are fixed on the floor with a partner or projectile. About the technique of their implementation will discuss below.
Performance technique
The starting position that an athlete needs to take is lying on his back. In this case the legs, as already mentioned above, are bent at the knees. The athlete’s hands should be behind the head, the neck should be kept in a neutral position. The abdominal muscles are constantly tense. The starting position is accepted.
To perform the exercise directly, it is necessary, slowly lifting the shoulder blades from the floor, to lift the upper torso. Lower back movement does not apply. In the raised state, you need to consolidate for a few seconds, and then also slowly return to the starting position. It is worth repeating that even in the initial position, the abdominal muscles should be tense, otherwise the effect of the exercise can be significantly reduced.
Important and often overlooked moments are the correct position of the neck and arms. The muscles of the neck do not need to strain while holding the torso from a prone position. This has no effect, except the possibility of earning micro-breaks. That is why, when accepting the initial position, hands are laid under the neck. If you cross them on the chest, the exercise will take less power, but some of the effect and support for the neck muscles will be lost.
Recommendations
Lifting the body from a supine position is often not popular among self-taught athletes. This is due to the fact that not all achieve the desired results, although the number of approaches and repetitions significantly exceeds those recommended in the programs.
The point here is not at all in the individual physiology of the athlete, but in the qualitative performance of the exercise. In order to understand exactly what a mistake can be made, let us give a few basic recommendations on the proper conduct of training the abdominal muscles. So:
Do not use inertia, and perform the movement in full amplitude slowly, controlling each stage.
Chin and neck when lifting the torso should be in a neutral position and stationary, their tension takes extra strength.
Raising the torso occurs only due to the tension of the muscles of the body, the strength of the arms in this case is not used, but is directed to maintain the neck in a neutral position.
When performing the chest, the chest should be straightened, this can be controlled by the shoulder blades brought together.
When moving up (raising) it is best to breathe.
This exercise is of the type in which the number of repetitions and approaches is far from the first place. It is much more preferable to perform a smaller number of elevations with unfixed feet, but slowly and with optimal muscle tension than quickly, due to the force of inertia, perform all repetitions. In addition to the fact that it will not have an effect, with this performance, the probability of getting a back injury increases.