Hi guys, Kris from Custom Fitness here, your Amarillo personal trainer. Today we’re going to be talking about how you can get a great ab workout using bands. This is part two in our two part series! Today I’m going to wrap up part two with some amazing exercises for you guys. You can see part one if you follow the link here: https://customfitness.biz/2018/01/31/using-bands-get-great-ab-workout-fab-5-exercises-part-1-custom-fitness-amarillo-personal-trainers/
If you have any questions about today’s blog, then please give us a call at (806)-322-3188
The next exercise that we’re going to do is the decline chop which you’re going to be doing from the side.
So you grab the inside of the band with the hand closest to the anchor, place the other hand on top, and press down to the hip and back up. You want to make sure that you aren’t turning the hips, that you have your stomach in tight, and that your knees are soft.
When you do this you start to fire those obliques, and the further over that you do this, the more that you’ll feel it in those obliques fighting to keep you from rotating.
And what you do on one side, you obviously want to do on the other side. So turn around and take it on the other side with this exercise and repeat. You want to make sure that you keep both sides even, you tighten the core, and that the body stays still during the movement.
So after that decline chop, you’re going to go into a seated bending roll down.
You’re going to sit down and place your feet to where they are almost touching the door. You’re going to reach up to the band, but not so high that you have to bend forward to reach. You want to to be at just enough to where you start to feel some tension on it.
So start off sitting up tall, feet about hip width apart, and knees lined up with your ankles. Holding on to that band, start to roll down one vertebrae at a time. Start with that tailbone tucked under, roll all the way onto your back, and if there is too much stretch on that band you can always let go of some of it. Then start at the head and start to roll back up one vertebrae at a time. Pull that bellybutton in and up, and let that band help remind you to come up tall.
Remember that the band is resisting you on the way down, and on the way up the band is not meant to pull you up so you do have to do most of the work. That tummy is helping you to get up, it’s not just that band. Pull that stomach in, don’t let it push out.
From your seated roll out, you’re going to take it into that kneeling twist.
For this one you’re going to want to switch to your medium anchor on the middle of the door. You’re going to want to go up onto your knees and be facing to the side.
So you want to grab the inside of that band and make an arch with your arms. What I mean by that is that your arms are going to be in a sort of circle at shoulder height. You aren’t totally reaching out, so that way your arms have the circular shape.
You’re going to want to start with holding the band in one hand and then pull that arch in to where it is lined up with your sternum. You’re going to want your hands and your sternum to be lined up at all times.
So you’re going to take that arch, have your stomach pulled in nice and tight, and then twist away from the door, and then bring it back.
So this twist is not happening from your shoulders, but from your back. This way your sternum goes with you and then it returns back.
Remember to engage that core really tight, and have intention with what you’re doing rather than just going through the motions. You always want to be intentional, especially with that core work. So focus on that squeeze and then do that same thing but on the other side.
So the last one that we’re going to do today is a side squat.
You’re going to be using that same medium achor band that is attached to the middle of your door.
Put your hand in the loop, have your arms straight out in front of you, face to the side and have your hands clasped. The goal is to keep the hands right in front of the sternum- not let them twist and not let your body twist.
So you’re going to side step out into a squat and then step together. Then step back into a squat and step back to where you started.
With this you’ll be working the stabilizers in the shoulders, the chest, and the abs.
There is a lot of core work going on in this exercise. And you want to make sure that your band stays straight in front of your body the entire time. As you’re doing this exercise, you’re going to feel a lot of work going on in those abdominals, especially after doing all of the other exercises. So take it to your own pace. And if you cannot complete 12-15 reps with excellent form, you need to bring the amount of reps down.
That was all of the exercises!
One thing I really want y’all to remember from this is that the goal is always excellent form. As an Amarillo personal trainer, I always stress to my clients that quality comes first. We don’t care how many reps you get as long as you have great quality. You can’t ever get the results that you want from higher numbers if that is a result of bad quality. So remember to build up that quality and then build up those reps.
So that ends the two part series on using bands! If you want to know more about Custom Fitness and what we do here, then please give us a call. If you’re wanting the accountability and help with creating an action plan to see results, or are wanting to someone to help create a workout plan to push you to your greatest potential, then that’s what we’re here for. We have an entire team of dedicated professionals to help you with your health and fitness goals. To get your consultation set up, give us a call at 806-322-3188 or email us at info@customfitness.biz At Custom Fitness, we are YOUR personal trainers in Amarillo, Texas. Have a great day.