Fitness with Vannytelly - No Crunch/ Crunchless Ab Workouts

Hello..!! This is my first blog post on exercise & fitness-related topic - excited! If you know me personally, you'd know Im an exercise/gym junkie and super into fitness & nutrition. Though I've been at it for years now, I've never really written anything about it. Mostly just sharing with my friends thru word-of-mouth. Just quickly sharing how you can get some ab workout without doing any crunches - if that's something some of you may really dislike doing. I myself really disliked doing crunches in the beginning since my muscles were not that strong, I always had neck aches after that. Maybe for a start or even on days you don't feel like doing any crunches, just squeezing in some of these crunchless ab workouts will be just as good.

Bridge

Beginner Movement

1. Lay flat on your back, with wrists in line with your shoulders and heels – feet slightly apart, flat on the floor.
2. Lift hips up towards ceiling to create a bridge. Make sure your core and thighs create a straight line for proper form.
3. Release your hips and lower your pelvis down till just two inches from the floor. That's 1 rep.
4. Repeat 10-15 reps for a set.

This exercise is great to help work our glutes and hamstrings WHILE working the rest of our core. 

Advanced Movement

1. Repeat movement 1 and 2.
2. Pause at movement 2 then lift right leg straight up in the air.
3. Release hips and lower your pelvis down to lightly tap the floor. That's 1 rep.
4. Repeat 10-15 reps for a set.
5. Then change legs to complete another set.

Forearm Plank

Beginner Movement

1. Start in a facedown position with legs straight out and place forearms on the ground with elbows aligned below the shoulders, and arms parallel to the body shoulder-width apart.
2. Exhale as you lift body up into a straight line from head to heels; contract abs.
3. 
   Engage core and hold for 30 seconds. That's 1 rep.

For beginners, hold this position for 30 seconds and work your time up as your core gets stronger.

Advanced Movement

1. Repeat movement 1.
2. As you exhale and lift your body up, lift your right leg up and hold for 30 seconds. That's 1 rep.

Side Plank

Beginner Movement

The Side Plank uses a similar concept to a Forearm Plank but is a more advanced movement.

1. Start by lying on one side of your body stacking your elbow under your shoulder and keeping your forearm on mat perpendicular to your body. 
2. Stack one feet above the other feet which is one the floor and stay in one long line as you raise your hips so that the body forms a straight line from ankles to shoulders.
3. Engage core and hold for 30 seconds. That's 1 rep.

Only your forearm and your feet should be supporting your weight all through this exercise. If this movement is too difficult, you may try to do this exercise with your knees bent, i.e. using your forearm and knees as the support for your weight - but remember to keep body in a straight line from knees to shoulders.

Advanced Movement #1

1. Repeat movement 1 and 2.
2. Bring your upper knee toward your chest, and hold for two seconds before returning to starting position. This completes one rep.
3. Repeat 10-15 reps for a set.
4. Then change legs to complete another set.

Advanced Movement #2

1. Repeat movement 1 and 2.
2. This time lift your upper leg straight up to a 45 degree angle.
3. Slowly bring the same leg down back and lightly tap the other leg to complete 1 rep.
4. Repeat 10-15 reps for a set.
5. Then change legs to complete another set.

Try to complete 3-4 sets for each exercise. If you are unable to do this many reps/ sets at one go, slowly work your way up. Remember to use proper form for all exercises, do proper warm-up before and cool-down after every workout; otherwise you may risk injuring yourself. A little effort a day makes a great difference in the long run; sometimes it just takes a couple more days to get stronger - consistency is the key! 

Side track a little... I recently found this workout apparel store on Qoo10 who sells really affordable & chic exercise gears - much cheaper than the usual branded ones; priced below $40 for bottoms and $30 for tops & sports bras. Quality is pretty good too - I can vouch for this since I own a few sets of workout apparel from SweetAngelShop. My workout gear in this blog post (except shoes) is also from them; how do you like it?

You can check SweetAngelShop's e-shop on Qoo10 via this link:
http://www.qoo10.sg/shop/SweetangelShop  You're welcome ; )

Feel free to leave comments in the comments box below if you have any questions regarding this topic and I'll try my best to answer if its not already stated in my blog above. Thanks for reading! : D

P.S. If you'd like to see my future posts, follow me on FB & IG.. 
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Cheers and stay tuned for more. ; )