Lower Abdominal 2: Walking to Lower Abdominal Exercise

Print Exercise*

LOAD	SETS	REPS	TEMPO	REST
Knees bent, feet flat on floor. To increase intensity, move the feet further away from the body	2	10 on each leg	2 Life: 2 Lower	30 sec.

LOAD	Knees bent, feet flat on floor. To increase intensity, move the feet further away from the body
SETS	2
REPS	10 on each leg
TEMPO	2 Life: 2 Lower
REST	30 sec.

Objectives

Targeted Muscles

How to Perform

Begin by lying on your back with your arms out at shoulder level, elbows bent and palms facing up. Knees are bent with feet flat on the floor.
Place a rolled up towel under your back at the belly button level. This is used to promote a normal lumbar curavature.
Take a deep inhale as the belly rises. On the exhale, gently pull your abdomen in towards your spine approximately 20% of maximum contraction. Hold gently. It should feel like you are trying to put on a tight pair of pants. The lower ribs should protrude.
As you hold your core in, gently flatten your low back into towel as you tilt your pelvis back. Use your lower core muscles to do this.
As you progress and become stronger, the exercise intensity can increase by walking your feet out and away from your hips. Progress a little further away with each session or sessions. Stop before the back of your knees touch the floor.

Common Challenges

As you tilt back with the pelvis to engage the lower abdominals it’s easy to over recruit the upper abs, cocking your head back and lifting your shoulders off the floor. Try and picture holding grapes down under your posterior shoulders to avoid shoulder elevation.
Be conscious of using the muscles below the belly button and not above. If you can’t feel those muscles, bring your hands to the front and side of your lower abdomen. Touching them will excite them to engage. They should gently pop up into your fingers.
It’s also common to recruit the glute (posterior hip) muscles instead of the low abs to tilt the pelvis back. Be conscious of using the lower abs while shutting down the glutes.

Alternative Exercise Suggestions for Patients with an ICD

No Restrictions