- According to personal trainer Brittany Noel, dead bugs are one of the best ab workouts.
- Noel says many people are doing sit-ups incorrectly, which can lead to injury.
- Abs are one of the worst abs, she said, because most people do them wrong.
Ab exercises are convenient because they don’t require a gym or equipment and can be done almost anywhere. But according to personal trainer Brittany Noel, people tend to do them improperly or choose workouts that are generally less effective.
Noelle told Insider that doing sit-ups incorrectly puts unnecessary strain on other parts of the body and can ultimately lead to injury.
According to Noel, sit-ups are one of the most injury-prone and inefficient exercises you can do to build strong abs. She said workouts like side planks and dead bugs are the best.
5. Sit-ups can injure you if you don’t use proper form
Noel doesn’t recommend sit-ups for ab strength because most people who work out aren’t using proper form. He said it’s sometimes over-pulling your hip flexors instead of your abs.
Sit-ups can also strain your spine and neck, putting unnecessary stress on different parts of your body rather than straining your abdominal muscles.
To do a proper sit-up, first secure your feet under something that supports your weight and place your hands in front of your chest. She told me to tuck my ribs toward my navel in a crunch motion and keep my midriff contracted while using my lower abs to lift my back off the ground. Sit elevated, then slowly roll each vertebra back to the ground.
4. It’s easy to get the Russian Twist wrong
Noel said he wouldn’t recommend the Russian Twists You are too far forward with your tailbone straight down and not properly engaging your core.
Noel also said many people twist their arms and neck too much instead of actually activating their abs.
My personal trainer told me to make sure I was leaning back with my legs up and my knees bent. . She twists slightly to the right, back to center, then twists slightly to the left while engaging the obliques.
3. Plank is no longer effective after 1 minute
Planks can be a great exercise, Noel said, but many people hold them for too long. Noel said no. In a 2018 article, spine specialist Dr. Stuart McGill agreed, telling The Telegraph that holding the plank for a few minutes doesn’t help. We recommend doing three 10-second plank intervals to get a .
Noel also said that the plank’s fixed position does not replicate the daily movements of our core.
She recommends keeping the plank hold relatively short and incorporating additional movements such as tapping each shoulder during the plank and lifting one leg at a time.
2. Side planks can prepare your body for other complex exercises
Noel ranks the side plank as one of the best ab exercises. This is because it works on your core and stretches your lower back. This also helps with other exercises like deadlifts and squats. Noel recommends placing one leg in front of the other rather than overlapping your legs to further stretch your hips.
She also avoids rounding her shoulders while doing the exercise and keeps her back straight to make the exercise most effective.
1. Bug carcasses are easy to do right and good for back pain
The dead bug is Noelle’s favorite exercise for strengthening her core because it’s easy to maintain proper form. For the exercise, lie on your back with your arms straight out in front of you and your legs bent 90 degrees. Then, extend your leg and opposite arm behind you and return to the starting position. Repeat with the other leg and arm.
Noel said lying on your back keeps your spine neutral. However, she said that if she feels pain while lying on her back, she shouldn’t do the exercise.
Holding things like foam rollers and stability balls in your hands can make the exercise more difficult, she said.
