Do you want to work your abs effectively, but you don’t have any equipment at home?
So, you envision the endless series of crunches and situps…. don’t do that unhappy, we have much better.
Do you see the gymnasts, these being made exclusively of muscles?
What we are going to talk about today isfundamental abdominal exercise that every gymnast uses, perfect for beginners too!
It’s just the best exercise for your 6 pack with the only material a piece of soil!
Zoom on the V sit-up
The unbearable suspense falls, we talk about the V sit up, a movement that combines a crunch and a leg raise.
Your upper body and your legs will therefore move simultaneously to form this V.
Once mastered, this movement, which requires strength and coordination, works the rectus abdominis muscle (the six pack) in the greatest range of motion possible.
The other floor exercises don’t come close to him, if you do the V Sit Up correctly…
Rhythm, explosiveness, coordination will be necessary to overcome it.
The first part of the movement during which you raise your arms and legs (concentric phase) must be explosive, then give way to a second part of the movement (eccentric) where, on the contrary, you brake as much as possible the running of your limbs towards the ground.
The tension on the rectus abdominis is immense.
Of course, you’re also going to need good posterior chain mobility to bend your body like this with straight legs.
Let’s see how to do it step by step:
- Activate your trunk by doing a retroversion of the pelvis to come and flatten your lower back on the ground,
- Adopt the hollow hold position (see below),
- Swing your arms forward while raising your straight and together legs,
- You can touch your toes with your hands or come and put them on the ground in front of you,
- Come back down to the starting position with control.
Always keep your lower back flat on the ground.
Aim for 3 sets of 15 reps.
Variations and progression
You may not be able to achieve this form of movement right away, so I suggest you go through the following progressions.
1. Hollow hold
A great classic, a basic posture for gymnasts!
This is also the starting position for our V sit up, with:
- the lower back flat on the ground, your shoulder blades do not touch the ground,
- head aligned with upper body,
- legs stretched and joined in front of you, toes pointed,
- arms outstretched and behind the skull, close to the ears.
For more details on this excellent movement, read our guide to the hollow body hold.
Your primary goal is to be able to hold the position for 45 to 60 seconds.
2. Crunch
An enormous classic which, although decried, allows build the necessary strength for our V sit up.
- Lying on your back, feet on the ground, knees bent, press your lower back to the ground while doing your pelvis retroversion,
- Your hands rest behind your head (without hooking the back of your neck) or against your temples, elbows pointing outwards,
- Do your crunches dynamically by curling your upper spine to lift your shoulder blades and shoulders off the ground.
You should be able to do 3 sets of 15 reps with good technique.
If you are able to do this easily, you can go deeper into the range of motion and start swinging your arms to mimic the motion of the V sit up.
3 sets of 15 dynamic repetitions like this and you are able to progress to the next variation.
3. Leg raises on the floor
We will now work on the other part of the movement.
In hollow body position on the floor, hands next to the body for better support, start by raising your knees towards your chest, dynamically, raising your pelvis with each repetition.
As soon as you are able to do 15-20 reps in a row, move on to the version below.
It’s time to do the same exercise, legs straight this time (it’s not the same thing anymore):
- In the hollow body position, your legs are stretched, joined and your knees completely locked,
- Place your lower back firmly on the ground, engage your abs and bring your legs straight beyond the vertical, supporting your lower back with your hands.
If your lower back arches and digs away from the floor, you’re not ready, go back to the bent-knee version and work.
4. Tuck V Sit Up
We put it all together for this last effective variant to find your rhythm:
- In hollow body position, begin a powerful hip flexion by contracting your abs,
- Tuck your legs in toward your chest, bending your knees,
- Swing your arms to come to rest your hands on the floor and lift your upper body off the ground,
- Bring your upper body as close to your lower body as possible.
What you will need in addition to practice stretched legs, probably a little mobility at the level of the posterior chain. For that, take a look at this article…
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