heard many experts recommend decline situps to support deadlift core strength. now do we do decline sit ups while curling torso up(spine flexion) or keep neutral spine and flex at the hip only? thx in advance. a video demonstrating correct form would be even better.
Not sure if serious?
I mean, looking at your avatar it’s obvious you lift well enough to know your own body and get great results so…do decline sit-ups in a way that hits your abs primarily rather than hip flexors. If you can feel it in your abs it’s doing its job.
[quote]Aragorn wrote:
Not sure if serious?
I mean, looking at your avatar it’s obvious you lift well enough to know your own body and get great results so…do decline sit-ups in a way that hits your abs primarily rather than hip flexors. If you can feel it in your abs it’s doing its job.[/quote]
so spine flexion is what you’re suggesting? my back seem to round in the lower region at the start and was told decline sit ups can help keep them stright yes i do have very good abs and been doing them using lumbar flexion to develope them. since the starting position for deadlift requires hip flexion and neutral spine, wasnt sure if you were supposed to mimic that position during situps.
[quote]myosaurus wrote:
[quote]Aragorn wrote:
Not sure if serious?
I mean, looking at your avatar it’s obvious you lift well enough to know your own body and get great results so…do decline sit-ups in a way that hits your abs primarily rather than hip flexors. If you can feel it in your abs it’s doing its job.[/quote]
so spine flexion is what you’re suggesting? my back seem to round in the lower region at the start and was told decline sit ups can help keep them stright yes i do have very good abs and been doing them using lumbar flexion to develope them. since the starting position for deadlift requires hip flexion and neutral spine, wasnt sure if you were supposed to mimic that position during situps.[/quote]
I think it is basically a case of experiment and find what works best for you. That was kind of my point, being that you’re a big ripped dude I was kind of surprised you asked the question lol. Personally I don’t have the problem you are mentioning so I don’t pay much attention if I start rounding on sit-ups. If that’s the problem you’re having it could be a weak back (weak spinal erectors/low back). I’m assuming you mean it rounds over when you start pulling the weight, not just getting into the starting position.
In any case, I would mimic the position you want to build first if that is your problem. Now that I think about it, I do usually keep the torso mostly straight when I do decline abs. I personally am a fan of ab rollouts because it requires you to fight the cave in both ways.
If you are worried about your lower back rounding while deadlifting, do some exercises that strengthen the lower back such as seated and round back good mornings. Weighted hyperextensions ( or if you have access to a reverse hyper even better,) and pull-throughs. Probably a few more that I am missing off the top of my head.
Your core isn’t just your abs, it also invloves the lower back so strengthening both is important.
Also ab pulldowns with a cable machine or bands are more functional for core strength as well.
great point both of you above. much appreciated! yes i think I need more direct lower back work!
OP, is that you in your avatar? From your question, I highly doubt it.
[quote]frankjl wrote:
OP, is that you in your avatar? From your question, I highly doubt it.[/quote]
lol it really is me. i can squat 500 x 10 and deadlift 500 x 6. yes i have t-rex arms so I do suffer starting positions in conventional deads.
I can only ever feel decline sit-ups if I keep my spine neutral and hinge at the hips, not using a full ROM, but going from just above the bench to just below the point where my legs and upper torso would be at 90°.
That said, I recently incorporated weighted decline sit-ups back into my training after not having done them for years and I was shocked at how weak I’d become. The killer DOMS was also a pleasant surprise.
I do my decline sit ups on a decline bench, or I sit backwards on GH raise.
The feedback I’ve gotten from some very high level guys is to focus on curling at the midsection over keeping a flat back, being hard on the hip flexors. Curling puts all the stress on the abs, i bring my chin right to my chest and it seems to help.
[quote]Mathew Bertrand wrote:
I do my decline sit ups on a decline bench, or I sit backwards on GH raise.
The feedback I’ve gotten from some very high level guys is to focus on curling at the midsection over keeping a flat back, being hard on the hip flexors. Curling puts all the stress on the abs, i bring my chin right to my chest and it seems to help.[/quote]
thats how i’ve been doing them all these time so i guess that answers my question! thx man.