I've been in the medical field for 17 years and find It refreshing to see somebody with a solid anatomical and physiological understanding teaching about training. There are too many unqualified trainers on youtube telling people methods that will eventually injury them. Thanks for doing what you do.
Oh Man, I've just got a back surgery due to chronic lower back pain since 1990. I guess things would have been completely different if I saw this video 25 years ago. GOD bless you my friend and sure hope this video reaches out to every athlete in the world.
Slight correction: Vince was careful to admonish sit-ups and leg raises because they are not primary abdominal exercises, even if they involved the abdominals, but not crunches. In fact, he has recommended certain crunches like frog crunches, as long as they shortened the distanced between the rib cage and the pelvis.
The key to notice in this video is how he directs this to "People who sit all day". If you have a job that keeps you on your feet all day, then crunches and leg raises might not affect you. When I worked a manual labor job that kept me on my feet 10+ hours a day, I had absolutely no problems doing leg raises or any other kind of hip flexor/ab exercise. HOWEVER, for a large percentage of the population, most people are stuck sitting for most of the day. When this is the case, the hip flexor muscles (ie, psoas) will shorten over time. This is because when you sit, EVEN WITH CORRECT POSTURE, the hip flexor muscles are contracted. Muscles have memory; if a muscle stays contracted for a long period of time, it will shorten. So, if a person is sitting all day at a job, then goes home/to the gym and performs ab exercises that involve contracting the hip flexor, this will only worsen the problem. So, this video is very useful for people who 1) sit all day AND 2) then perform ab exercises AND 3) develop lower back pain/hip pain. Every person's body is different, some people may have issues with this, other's won't.
It is rare to find objective knowledge presented in a professional fashion like this on the internet regarding exercise. I very much appreciate your videos. Please keep what you're doing.
I HAD THIS PROBLEM!!!! I used to do leg-lifts, crunches and v-ups and i've now since stopped and its significantly helped. I used to have this problem. I tended to begin my workouts with my abs but then would end up relying on my hipflexers and back in the end. I did these workouts for about a year and it is painful to work as hard as I did only to mess myself up. Thank you for the support, I believe what you said in this video to be true!
Same here brotha. Years back, i was all about that six-pack and abs exercises was my thing and pretty much what i did with almost every session while neglecting my lower back and hamstrings. Fast forward to last year, i started getting a lot of back issues and just feeling unstable when i walked 'cause my...(as indicated in the video above) guts were 'spilling' out/forward and my butt started sticking out. What Elliott is describing in the video is scary accurate. I cut down on my ab work-outs and slowly increased my use of the hyper-extension bench(parallel one..not the 45 degree one) . I'm feeling so much better by the day and am doing fairly well with deadlifts now.
Connor Herron Aspiring Runner hey guys I just saw this and was wondering how do you fix it? is there a specific way to correct the tilt? or it'll slowly correct itself if I don't do any more crunches? thanks !
I am 65 and researching bodybuilding and strength training. I have a lo.t of respect for you as a teacher because you present the facts and clearly break down viewers defensive attitude by blending old systems with the new. Thank You. What people fail to understand is that it's all good info. Everyone's body style is unique to them. They have to experiment and mentally connect with the muscles they are working with. This comes from within. It's not easy to change a body running on auto pilot for many years. Those that do are rewarded with Health, Strength and Full Life. Thank You for your videos. It's hard to find time and have a family. Be well and Prosper Friend.
Elliot, you are pure gold! I've had my share of injuries and still do. Whyle I was doing crunces today and thinking of that same problem that I have I was also wandering what can i possibly do to target the abdominal but not the hip flexors. Yoy are a prophet! You have hundreds of videos yet ever since I discovered your channel and I had a problem -any sort- both phisical and mental. Watch a random video of yours has always given me the exact answer to a degree taht i now consider your channels to be magical! For that i thank you!
Holy crap, I'm so glad I saw this. This sounds like my problem, and I've been trying to figure this out the past year. I take my posture very seriously, and I try as hard as I can to stand perfectly straight. People tell me I have a "presence" and I think posture has something to do with that. Unfortunately, when I'm not wearing a loose shirt, if I look in the mirror, it looks like I'm sticking out my stomach and butt, or I have a curvature of the lower spine. I'm definitely going to try the exercises in the follow-up video this links to it. I'm very excited about this! Thanks Elliott!
Hey Matthew, just wanted to let you know that we are togethe in this! I also try to stand straight, but i've also taken notice to other's postures around my area. I have noticed that my stomach looks like its spilled out and my abdominal wall is detached from my abs, and my butt is really huge lol. I have been stretching my hip flexors, and it has been helping :) i'll try out the plank aswell.
I'm having the same issue. While my core has become strong, my pelvis has a forward tilt. I think gym classes concentrate too much on Crunches and not enough on Situps because it's a lot easier to get a whole class to do Crunches than to do Situps.
Even though your comment is 3 months ago, I swear, it's like I'm the one who's writing it. EXACTLY the same situation. Have a presence, look good in a loose shirt. If I wear a tight shirt, or stand in front of the mirror, my ass and stomach are protruding. Have you tried this man? Have you had results with it?
Bro, this is my sisters account cause I'm too lazy to log out, but as soon as I do I'm subscribing to your channel. You just compiled all the information I was searching for about my problems into a 13 minute video. Everything has been illuminated- from why I injured myself squatting/deadlifting, to why my vertical has diminished, to my posture, my tight psoas, the fact my abs are looking "fat", lower back pain, etc...You my man are the truth.
Though you are somewhat correct I was however using a more well known vernacular by using the terms lower/upper abs. It has however been proven that certain movements can affect different parts of the same muscle. From what I remember it has something to do with nerve endings and where the muscle is connected to the bone. - Cheers
mastercube12 How come when I do crunches, the upper 4 parts of my six-pack get sore, and when I do leg lifts or butt raises, the lower 2 parts of the rubber band get sore? Dur.
SERIOUS!!! I have had some issues for YEARS with my hips ~ thought it was because I was 40 & birthed 4 kids! LOL I try to be active ~ but end up in lots of pain in my hips, knees .... and it leads all the way up to my neck!! THIS makes so much sense!! It is what 3 doctors and 2 chiropractors have said ALL IN ONE!! Finally ~ you explained it in a way I understand!! Thank you!!!
His "talking" and explanations make great sense actually. As he goes into depth to further clarify his point. Rather than moving onto a new topic immediately while the viewer is sitting there wondering why all of his questions weren't answered. Elliot, does quite the opposite. He EXPLAINS and gives EXAMPLES. Which explains why he has no less than a quarter-million views on each video. So you know...
Dian Robertson - I don't think I'm going to listen to someone who has a strip show on their youtube channel... I think i'll listen to the guy who keeps a semblance of integrity.
3. I could go on, but main thing is for any ab exercise is: -suck in your belly button to spine ("vacuuming" as described in video) throughout any exercise -breathe throughout the exercise -minimize lumbar flexion -hit ALL your core muscles (rectus, although aesthetically pleasing for a 6 pack, does little for us functionally) I ENJOY YOUR CHANNEL THOUGH KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK
+Evoo I've gotten really busy lately and I've been lucky to get to the gym twice a week. About 6 weeks this way. I'm softer and less cut, but I haven't lost my gains yet, just my pump. How you doing?
Anterior pelvic tilt can be addressed by doing specific Pilates exercises. The idea of "vacuuming" is very similar to the Pilates principle of activating the "Powerhouse" through a lateral breathing technique and "bracing" the core which will act as a girdle of strength throughout the execution of all abdominal exercises. Combine your traditional abs exercises with Pilates-based core work and you're good to go!
Finally a good reference for why not to crunch. We all hear its bad for the back, but that is the first good explanation of crunches causing back problems I've found.
Nothing is good to the extreme. Never doing crunches won't work your abs as much as you could, and always doing them proves to be bad as well. Use good judgment and do what feels right and always do things in moderation. If anything, the one proven lift that is dangerous is the leg extension with relatively high weight. Your shins aren't supposed to bear a lot of weight from the front, and doing so dangerously weakens your ACLs and makes you more prone to injury.
currently suffering from a severe hipflexor strain. it was because of the extreme leg lift progression i was doing with a lack of dynamic and static stretching. I feel like it's okay to crunch, but make sure you THOROUGHLY stretch everything before and after, and also make sure you're working out all muscle groups with good form to avoid damaging muscular imbalances.
Good question. I recommend doing bicycle crunches, because they work the hamstring as well as the hip flexors. Also, you can do frog crunches, stances (both the front as well as the sides). Bicycles: watch?v=nrF4bv6Z6ec Frogs: watch?v=jB4AwMTO8U8 Stance: watch?v=n2QW6oit40o Good luck!
SOoooooooo....What are exercises to activate TCF?? Ha ha what the heck. Do vacuuming? I would expect you to give us some more instruction on the suggested exercise
+akpokemon As much as I respect Elliott Hulse, I have to disagree with what he said about not using BOSU balls and stability exercises. To practice bracing (or vacuuming), it's essential that you consciously activate your stabilizing muscles using exercises such as planks or one-legged dumbbell exercises would help you do exactly that. When you're standing on one leg trying to do bicep curls, you're forced to engage your stability muscles. Don't know why he said that...
I agree 100% with the hip-flexor/abs statement. When I started doing high rep or weighted situps I realized my abs never got sore and my back always did. I realized I was using my hip flexors to do the movement instead of mentally engaging the abs and using them properly.
Okay so what exercises to do now for the abdominal muscles other than crunches? and the Vacuum as i heard it reduces waist..but isn't a thick waist meaning a stronger core and more muscles wrapped??
You don't have to do ANY "direct" abdominal exercises. The best and fastest way to get killer abs and amazing core strength is to do Compound exercises! Squats, Deadlifts, Overhead Press, Power Cleans, Bench, Row's, Pull ups and Dips! If you do heavy compound exercises. You don't EVER have to do a crunch again. They SUCK! The compound exercises force your abs to stabilize your body (which is the primary function of the abs), lifting heavy puts a lot of stress on them, more than you could ever achieve with any direct ab exercises without injuring yourself. This will force your core to strengthen and grow.
Man..thank you so so much for your reply which really came at its perfect time!! why? because I am reading, watching a lot about those compound exercises which I just gave it a go in the gym...and guess what? I just loved them and what they can do for your body. Bro, I'm just a new lifter and this piece of info you gave really made my day! so that I don't have to worry about abs exercises at the end of the workout which I never liked actually...thank you so much brother. Peace always :)
ahmed jumah No problem! If you're just starting out and want to make fast gains, I HIGHLY recomment the Stronglifts program, you can download the program for free at stronglifts (dot) com I started out with that and my squats went from an empty bar to 350lbs in 6 months. Follow the program and add Pull ups and Dips at the end of each exercise and you'll be amazed at the transformation your body will make within weeks. If you also want to burn some extra fat do 10 min of cardio after you finish lifting 10 sets of 30 sprint/30 walk back to back, which makes 10 min. Don't forget to stretch and warm up before you start lifting (not too intensive... just 5 min. don't burn yourself out before you start lifting).
Delano Lowes what a coincidence man!!..Stronglifts IS the one I have been reading about now for almost two days, I already downloaded the pack. However, haven't started yet but I did some lifts this week to see my max. and WOW I congratulate you for your results...it is very nice that I found someone who's done this program and telling me how effective it is...very motivational. Stay strong :)
Dude, all of your videos are great. This one in particular is quite thorough. Some really strange comments below that i've seen that have really kind of missed the boat a little bit. Ignore those and keep preaching, it's great content.
To stretch: Do a lunge with your trail leg knee to the ground. Keep back and pelvis straight (tense abs slightly) and then move body and pelvis forward slightly. You should feel the stretch in the trail leg with your knee on the ground - the full length of the frontal quad muscle to the pelvis. Hold for a few seconds and then change legs and then repeat. Do this every day or every training day.
I am 23 years old and I have mild anterior pelvic tilt from bad sitting and standing habits. I am not out of shape and have been weight lifting on and off for 4 years now. This form makes it look like my bum sticks out, and the arc in my back pushes my stomach and chest out. This position feels like I'm standing straight, but in reality is very bad for my posture (neck extended forward and shoulders hunched over). I just watched another strengthcamp video about posture and realized why I feel so tired. Not enough oxygen in the lungs and psychological impedance of having little to no energy during the day. Bad habits will catch up to you! I will test out the vacuuming technique in hopes to help relieve back strain and posture correction. Thanks Elliot!
Same problem here lad. Working on it myself! Which video is it about getting more oxygen? I've recently stated standing up taller shoulders back and chest out since Christmas and I do seem to have more energy I think it's a mixture of things tho
mother of 4 speaking here, i discovered vacumming years ago which helped me strengthen my abs and slim down my waist. i do this while doung my chores, while showering, while pushing the pram. you basically do a big inhale and as you exhale you bring your ab muscles in until there's no more air to breath out. hold that muscle tention for 20 to 30 seconds while breathing. breathing should be well controlled. then relax for 20 seconds then repeat until exhaustion. i applied vacuuming when lifting at the gym. great for the waist.
I think it's his shaved face and the fact this video was made 4 years ago. Still, he's in his 30s. I suspect he's had treatment to reverse the effects of ageing.
No offense intended. Are you from the USA? Americans take themselves too seriously. lololol. The rest of the developed world openly use swear words because they understand that they are just words. They understand the difference between formal and informal. The call each other C**T as a term of endearment. And they are more advanced, socially, than us in a lot of ways. There's less judgemental BS because they focus on what matters. The only time they pay attention to what comes out of the mouth is whether or not there's hate attached to it. If I say, "For Fuck's Sake..." there is a different connotation than if I said, "you're a fuck face." It's what is inferred that gives a word power. Not the word itself. AMericans need to lighten the fuck up lolololol. They are just words. Not dicks. Don't take them so hard ;) haha. All in good fun.
wow thanks for the video elliot. I've been on a marathon watching your videos because I learn so much from them. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos
Do you really think that's what this man was trying to convey? Do you REALLY think that he posted a video and said "woops I didn't mean that. Oh well I'm sure whoever watched this video will figure it out."? Honestly?! He obviously did more than enough research to know what the fuck he MEANT.
MarioThaMonkey I believe GuiltyAssCharger is right. You can see people doing situps in this video of Elliott titled "Weighed Crunches": /watch?v=USHOIiQdGDY Maybe it's a common mistake, as I used to call them crunches for years before I realised I was wrong.
I was being playfully blunt lol but yeah I understand. Full movement is different. I just feel a little hostile toward people who call other people out on stuff. I mean the dude obviously try to at least know why he thinks he's right. Idk. I understand though. Thanks for the correction.
Thank You! My lumbar curve has become extremely exaggerated over the years. Doing crunches or sit ups would probably shorten the hip flexors much quicker than of course sitting. Most workout enthusiasts, trainers and the like, have exaggerated lumbar curves, so this makes total sense. An exaggerated lumbar curve causes back problems. Yoga and Pilates, Planks all the way!
Aside from u being extremely blessed with good looks, u are very astute/intelligent. Thanks for this video, u explain this belly-crunching, problem well. Sent this video to my 3 children. God Bless.
Elliot is pretty good at being a strength athlete and running his camp. But he seems to overstep it when it comes to talking, he talks so much I think he confuses himself as well as his watchers. In other words he's just a professional broscientist with a pHd in bro-ology.
He wouldn't have gotten half as much exposure if he didn't talk. The key to being successful is talking. Charisma over content anyway. If you sell your ideas with enough confidence and charisma, people shall value you no matter the validity of your content.
I received my PhD in Physical Therapy from TWU 17 years ago and have been treating sports related injuries ever since. I believe I'm well qualified to vouch for the validity of his ideology. I am fairly certain by your rambling that you probably attended a weekend seminar from some "clown", bought into his ideas, and now you are an authority on sports physiology. In all honesty I hope you continue training,and training others, by your methods. That is job security for me and my colleagues.Thanks
You know what I leaned in elementary school? I learned to capitalize the first letter of a sentence, or the letter "I" when referring to myself. I'm sorry if your attention span is too short to follow a 13 minute presentation; but that's on you, not him. More gym *and* more school. Vlaka the point of this video wasn't to explain what exercises to do, he made a later video about that that he links to at 9:23. This one is more specifically about crunches and why they may not be as great as most think they are.
Well, whether Vince says it or not, the point in this video (the effects of belly-crunching) makes perfect sense. My son (a US Marine) always wondered why his lower belly would never go away even though he did 100 crunches daily, in addition, his lower back has always been a painful issue. Well now we know why. God Bless.
Love you information bro, awesome!! I was just a bit confused about what or how exactly to vacuum. Thanks to the internet at least you gave me a starting point. You, or Vince made a lot of sense. I do a lot of crunches and have lost 40 lbs. at 57 yrs old. The belly fat is what I'm currently working on and it's a pain. Thanks for your altruistic, noble gesture in sharing this wealth of knowledge and wisdom. All the best!
Unlike most other ab exercises, crunches are designed to REMOVE the hip flexors from the equation...That's the whole point of the crunch movement in the first place. You seemed to have gotten it the wrong way around. The anterior pelvic tilt actually gets worse when the Lumbar family of lower back muscles starts to overpower the tension across the FRONT of the spine. This is actually one of the reasons why most modern pro bodybuilders have the unnactractive posture you describe - hips tilted forward, butt sticking out, stomach sticking out (e.g. watch Dextor jackson when he's walking out on stage). With todays emphasis in bodybuilding on developing the "christmas tree" lower back thickness, the Lumbar family of muscles get so strong and overly-developed as to start pulling the pelvis from the rear towards the middle spine, thereby increasing the concavity of the lower back when viewed from the rear (possibly the worst example being Kai Green). The best exercise to counteract this? CRUNCHES. Lower back stretching is the other counter move...e.g. lying on the floor on your back and pulling your knees twowards your chest by hugging them with your arms. And with reagrds to Arnold, yes sure he did vaccums, but he also did LOADS of Roman Chair situps - which was one of the most popular ab exercises in the "Golden Era". And what muscles are activated heavily with the Roman? The HIP FLEXORS...whilst the abs are simply locking the upper body straight.
Just watched this video, and I already knew that so much sitting takes years off of your life in addition to the negative imacpt on my strength training. So, I got off of my lazy butt,and just turned my desk into a standing desk. No longer procrastinating or making excuses thinking I'm going to build some great standing desk. Just did it with what was around me (luckily I work from home). Thanks for the motivation as always!
Don't go the sit ups because they promote bad habits. This doesn't mean crnches are bad, but people's bodies will naturally try and find the easiest way to do something which for people like me was due to the hyperactive hip-flexor. Thank you for the information. It really helped.
My savior? Dude, if this works, you are the man. I have two ruptured discs and have never been told how to get my hip flexors to not be so tight and how to strengthen my core like you do. I'll start this program and let you know how it does.
some internal obliques (esp. when incorporating a controlled twisting motion [ie bringing knee towards elbow], which turns a static move into one that is not so static = an ideal move for runners) which (from the video at 10:20) stimulates the TCF = vacuuming!
Though you kept referring to crunches you described situps and not crunches. Crunches work the back flexors and situps work the hip flexors (iliacus and psoas = iliopsoas) muscles.
very good to know. i am a rower and i think i have to tell my coach about the shortened hip flexor part of this video, as you need all the explosiveness you can get from the lower part of your body. i like everything about this and i especially like how you are so very well spoken. very informative! thanks!
i used to do 500+ leg lifts a day and i had an amazing looking core, but i could never do squats because it KILLED my hamstrings. not only that, the weight on my shoulders, even as little as 135lbs, hurt my back tremendously. This explains it all. thank you so much, now it makes sense
Thank you for this! This describes PERFECTLY what I was experiencing with my abs and lower back, and what I need to fix. I'm at a good steady workout pace, but I wondered why my stomach was pushing out and ass up.
A point on static exercises (such as the plank): from reading, it seems that a static plank is great for training the body to keep a neutral spine, but not necessarily ideal for running... I may be wrong, but from what I understand in this video is that you should engage your whole core at one time, keeping ALL of it tight (so the tranverse abdominals and the internal obliques!)
Deadlift will help strengthen the glutes and hamstrings. If you have anterior pelvic tilt you may have to learn the hamstring stretch that allows for a neutral spine position while stretching. This will help allow you to engage the appropriate muscles while keeping the spine in the neutral position to safely deadlift. The dead lift will help correct muscular imbalances, correct poor posture, basically the deadlift will make you look better, feel better, and have some useful strength in your body. The farmers walk will do the same when performed correctly, basically strong man movements have a place in your weight training program.
Great lesson on anatomy and dysfunction diagnosis! So, what is the corrective measure that should be taken? In plain terms, what kind of vacuuming exercises should be done? Just planks? That's technically core stability! Not sure what your point was.
Nice video Elliot! Swiss ball crunches with a heavy dumbbell will ISOLATE the abdominals, addressing the problem of hip-flexor engagement. Do this while "vacuuming" and you have a secret weapon in your arsenal for anyone interested in athletic performance and aesthetics. Cheers!
How is this the top comment?? do you not think before you type? First off this video is titled 'Do Not Crunch'. It isn't called 'How to do Vacuuming Exercises'. If you did think for 5 seconds you'd realize that in the time it took you to write you're whiny little comment you could have simply used the search bar to find a video explaining the exercise in question. You people need someone to hold you hand on everything. Appreciate that it's a free video and he's nice enough to share his knowledge
I'm a PT and I get people to use vacuuming all the time haha. But then I was lucky enough to come across Vacuum Training a few years ago and has helped me alot.
Makes so much sense. I never really train abs. I started this past week going @ abs hard… & I couldn’t figure out why my hips, lower / middle back , hip flexors & hamstrings hurt so incredibly bad …
this video was so useful for me. I have terrible flexibility in my hamstrings and I've hurt them several times. A bad back injury which after 2 years has sort of healed but left me with a ton of problems. Not to mention the curve in my lower back just looks unnatural. Oh and a gut that sticks out a lot.
Plus (as Elliot mentions is a big no-no when deciding core exercises), there's no flexion of the hips involved, so you won't get help from your hip-flexors within the workout. So you are isolating your core much more effectively. I also get the impression that it fits the criteria for "vacuuming" exercises in that you are working your tranverse abdominals and
thats a good point, however is someone has overactive hip flexors they most likely have weakened rectus and transverse abdominals (along with many other parts of the local stabilization system) which would most likely cause the type of synergistic dominance as kinda described by elliot. for example doing the standard crunch if the abdominals are weak the body compensates by engaging the psoas muscles which is a deep hip flexor and agrees with this theory
although I may not have a profound amount of knowledge in fitness, I recognize planks as a pretty good exercise... Where it is possible to do hundreds of crunches (likely using more hip flexors than actual abs...) it's much more challenging to do a minute or 2 of planks... you really feel your core working!
There are ways but it takes a lot of time. Firstly stop doing crunches / leg raises / anything else that tightens hip flexors. If you need to do ab work I normally try reverse crunches or planks. Strength the hamstrings, SLDL work well for hamstrings / glutes. And stretch out the quads / hip flexors with the standing quad stretch and the lunging stretch. It won't be an overnight fix, but years of damage needs a fair bit of time to repair, hope this helps.
I've been in the medical field for 17 years and find It refreshing to see somebody with a solid anatomical and physiological understanding teaching about training. There are too many unqualified trainers on youtube telling people methods that will eventually injury them. Thanks for doing what you do.
Oh Man, I've just got a back surgery due to chronic lower back pain since 1990. I guess things would have been completely different if I saw this video 25 years ago. GOD bless you my friend and sure hope this video reaches out to every athlete in the world.
Thats why i share it
you saw this video 25 years ago ? wtf! 17 years ago there was no TH-cam!
Why do Muslims like saying "my friend"?
If he
Trying to get better after 5 years of chronic pain, hopefully I can avoid that and be naturally strong and able thanks to Elliott.
SO true. I tend to feel more in my legs when i do certain ab workouts.
+nepatriots77 Because your rectus femoris (quad muscle) assists in hip flexion, which is what you do in ab workouts.
Slight correction: Vince was careful to admonish sit-ups and leg raises because they are not primary abdominal exercises, even if they involved the abdominals, but not crunches. In fact, he has recommended certain crunches like frog crunches, as long as they shortened the distanced between the rib cage and the pelvis.
The key to notice in this video is how he directs this to "People who sit all day". If you have a job that keeps you on your feet all day, then crunches and leg raises might not affect you. When I worked a manual labor job that kept me on my feet 10+ hours a day, I had absolutely no problems doing leg raises or any other kind of hip flexor/ab exercise.
HOWEVER, for a large percentage of the population, most people are stuck sitting for most of the day. When this is the case, the hip flexor muscles (ie, psoas) will shorten over time. This is because when you sit, EVEN WITH CORRECT POSTURE, the hip flexor muscles are contracted. Muscles have memory; if a muscle stays contracted for a long period of time, it will shorten.
So, if a person is sitting all day at a job, then goes home/to the gym and performs ab exercises that involve contracting the hip flexor, this will only worsen the problem.
So, this video is very useful for people who
1) sit all day
AND 2) then perform ab exercises
AND 3) develop lower back pain/hip pain. Every person's body is different, some people may have issues with this, other's won't.
It is rare to find objective knowledge presented in a professional fashion like this on the internet regarding exercise. I very much appreciate your videos. Please keep what you're doing.
I HAD THIS PROBLEM!!!! I used to do leg-lifts, crunches and v-ups and i've now since stopped and its significantly helped. I used to have this problem. I tended to begin my workouts with my abs but then would end up relying on my hipflexers and back in the end. I did these workouts for about a year and it is painful to work as hard as I did only to mess myself up. Thank you for the support, I believe what you said in this video to be true!
Same here brotha. Years back, i was all about that six-pack and abs exercises was my thing and pretty much what i did with almost every session while neglecting my lower back and hamstrings. Fast forward to last year, i started getting a lot of back issues and just feeling unstable when i walked 'cause my...(as indicated in the video above) guts were 'spilling' out/forward and my butt started sticking out. What Elliott is describing in the video is scary accurate. I cut down on my ab work-outs and slowly increased my use of the hyper-extension bench(parallel one..not the 45 degree one) . I'm feeling so much better by the day and am doing fairly well with deadlifts now.
It took me a couple months.
Connor Herron Aspiring Runner hey guys I just saw this and was wondering how do you fix it? is there a specific way to correct the tilt? or it'll slowly correct itself if I don't do any more crunches? thanks !
I am 65 and researching bodybuilding and strength training. I have a lo.t of respect for you as a teacher because you present the facts and clearly break down viewers defensive attitude by blending old systems with the new. Thank You. What people fail to understand is that it's all good info. Everyone's body style is unique to them. They have to experiment and mentally connect with the muscles they are working with. This comes from within. It's not easy to change a body running on auto pilot for many years. Those that do are rewarded with Health, Strength and Full Life. Thank You for your videos. It's hard to find time and have a family. Be well and Prosper Friend.
Hey Elliot, I have to correct you on your info. You have it backwards Vince loved the crunch, not sit-ups
Yes because crunches focus the abs because you barely come up off the ground to contract
Seems like such a big mistake on his part, still a great video tho
.Well in fact Arnold did crunches and situps a lot even he knew Vince Gironda.
You should watch the Vince Gironda video training Late Baxter 80's and 90's female BB...he did crunches not sit ups
You are correct. Vince was known to throw people out of his gym for doing full sit-ups.
Elliot, you are pure gold! I've had my share of injuries and still do. Whyle I was doing crunces today and thinking of that same problem that I have I was also wandering what can i possibly do to target the abdominal but not the hip flexors. Yoy are a prophet! You have hundreds of videos yet ever since I discovered your channel and I had a problem -any sort- both phisical and mental. Watch a random video of yours has always given me the exact answer to a degree taht i now consider your channels to be magical! For that i thank you!
Holy crap, I'm so glad I saw this. This sounds like my problem, and I've been trying to figure this out the past year. I take my posture very seriously, and I try as hard as I can to stand perfectly straight. People tell me I have a "presence" and I think posture has something to do with that. Unfortunately, when I'm not wearing a loose shirt, if I look in the mirror, it looks like I'm sticking out my stomach and butt, or I have a curvature of the lower spine. I'm definitely going to try the exercises in the follow-up video this links to it. I'm very excited about this! Thanks Elliott!
Hey Matthew, just wanted to let you know that we are togethe in this! I also try to stand straight, but i've also taken notice to other's postures around my area. I have noticed that my stomach looks like its spilled out and my abdominal wall is detached from my abs, and my butt is really huge lol. I have been stretching my hip flexors, and it has been helping :) i'll try out the plank aswell.
Also, my lower back curves aswell
I'm having the same issue. While my core has become strong, my pelvis has a forward tilt. I think gym classes concentrate too much on Crunches and not enough on Situps because it's a lot easier to get a whole class to do Crunches than to do Situps.
Even though your comment is 3 months ago, I swear, it's like I'm the one who's writing it.
EXACTLY the same situation. Have a presence, look good in a loose shirt. If I wear a tight shirt, or stand in front of the mirror, my ass and stomach are protruding.
Have you tried this man? Have you had results with it?
Mony Tbitu
look up lordosis and you should find some advice. glute bridges, warrior two pose (yoga), planks and reverse crunches will help.
Bro, this is my sisters account cause I'm too lazy to log out, but as soon as I do I'm subscribing to your channel. You just compiled all the information I was searching for about my problems into a 13 minute video. Everything has been illuminated- from why I injured myself squatting/deadlifting, to why my vertical has diminished, to my posture, my tight psoas, the fact my abs are looking "fat", lower back pain, etc...You my man are the truth.
As far as i remember Gironda talked about sit-ups not crunches, since crunches only use the upper abs.
Right me if I am wrong.
Cheers
you dont have separated abs, is just one big muscle, like a rubberband. you cant just tense the upper part of the rubberband
Though you are somewhat correct I was however using a more well known vernacular by using the terms lower/upper abs.
It has however been proven that certain movements can affect different parts of the same muscle. From what I remember it has something to do with nerve endings and where the muscle is connected to the bone.
- Cheers
mastercube12 How come when I do crunches, the upper 4 parts of my six-pack get sore, and when I do leg lifts or butt raises, the lower 2 parts of the rubber band get sore? Dur.
You're right. I read the book years ago. Crunches fine, no to sit ups.
SERIOUS!!!
I have had some issues for YEARS with my hips ~ thought it was because I was 40 & birthed 4 kids! LOL
I try to be active ~ but end up in lots of pain in my hips, knees .... and it leads all the way up to my neck!! THIS makes so much sense!! It is what 3 doctors and 2 chiropractors have said ALL IN ONE!! Finally ~ you explained it in a way I understand!!
Thank you!!!
This video made me want to stand up the whole time....
What a relief to listen to somebody who seems to know what he is talking about!
Very interesting. Will start doing them 5 times a day.
His "talking" and explanations make great sense actually. As he goes into depth to further clarify his point. Rather than moving onto a new topic immediately while the viewer is sitting there wondering why all of his questions weren't answered. Elliot, does quite the opposite. He EXPLAINS and gives EXAMPLES. Which explains why he has no less than a quarter-million views on each video. So you know...
ITS NOT 'DO NOT CRUNCH' ITS: 'DO NOT FULL SIT-UPS!'
read the book, dude
You are an actual life saver, better able to help me than anyone else ever has in this world. I bow to you Sir as a sensei.
elliot, youre reffering to situps, not crunches. crunches isolate abs only
Diana, if you really expect an answer you need to address him the correct way, which is: Yo', Elliot.
Dian Robertson - I don't think I'm going to listen to someone who has a strip show on their youtube channel... I think i'll listen to the guy who keeps a semblance of integrity.
@@EngineeringFun gold haha
3. I could go on, but main thing is for any ab exercise is:
-suck in your belly button to spine ("vacuuming" as described in video) throughout any exercise
-breathe throughout the exercise
-minimize lumbar flexion
-hit ALL your core muscles (rectus, although aesthetically pleasing for a 6 pack, does little for us functionally)
I ENJOY YOUR CHANNEL THOUGH KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK
Started doing crushes a few days ago, and I can feel the muscles burn, like a whole new muscle group I've been ignoring. Gonna keep doing them
+Steve Dallas Two months passed since your comment, how are the results? Just curious.
+Evoo I've gotten really busy lately and I've been lucky to get to the gym twice a week. About 6 weeks this way. I'm softer and less cut, but I haven't lost my gains yet, just my pump. How you doing?
Anterior pelvic tilt can be addressed by doing specific Pilates exercises. The idea of "vacuuming" is very similar to the Pilates principle of activating the "Powerhouse" through a lateral breathing technique and "bracing" the core which will act as a girdle of strength throughout the execution of all abdominal exercises. Combine your traditional abs exercises with Pilates-based core work and you're good to go!
Was doing crunches while watching this video... Didn't stop either!!
Finally a good reference for why not to crunch. We all hear its bad for the back, but that is the first good explanation of crunches causing back problems I've found.
Nothing is good to the extreme. Never doing crunches won't work your abs as much as you could, and always doing them proves to be bad as well. Use good judgment and do what feels right and always do things in moderation. If anything, the one proven lift that is dangerous is the leg extension with relatively high weight. Your shins aren't supposed to bear a lot of weight from the front, and doing so dangerously weakens your ACLs and makes you more prone to injury.
currently suffering from a severe hipflexor strain. it was because of the extreme leg lift progression i was doing with a lack of dynamic and static stretching. I feel like it's okay to crunch, but make sure you THOROUGHLY stretch everything before and after, and also make sure you're working out all muscle groups with good form to avoid damaging muscular imbalances.
elloit. Vince was against regular situps not crunches.
Good question. I recommend doing bicycle crunches, because they work the hamstring as well as the hip flexors. Also, you can do frog crunches, stances (both the front as well as the sides).
Bicycles: watch?v=nrF4bv6Z6ec
Frogs: watch?v=jB4AwMTO8U8
Stance: watch?v=n2QW6oit40o
Good luck!
SOoooooooo....What are exercises to activate TCF?? Ha ha what the heck. Do vacuuming? I would expect you to give us some more instruction on the suggested exercise
+akpokemon yeah wtf?!?!?!?!
+akpokemon As much as I respect Elliott Hulse, I have to disagree with what he said about not using BOSU balls and stability exercises. To practice bracing (or vacuuming), it's essential that you consciously activate your stabilizing muscles using exercises such as planks or one-legged dumbbell exercises would help you do exactly that. When you're standing on one leg trying to do bicep curls, you're forced to engage your stability muscles. Don't know why he said that...
I agree 100% with the hip-flexor/abs statement. When I started doing high rep or weighted situps I realized my abs never got sore and my back always did. I realized I was using my hip flexors to do the movement instead of mentally engaging the abs and using them properly.
Okay so what exercises to do now for the abdominal muscles other than crunches? and the Vacuum as i heard it reduces waist..but isn't a thick waist meaning a stronger core and more muscles wrapped??
You don't have to do ANY "direct" abdominal exercises. The best and fastest way to get killer abs and amazing core strength is to do Compound exercises! Squats, Deadlifts, Overhead Press, Power Cleans, Bench, Row's, Pull ups and Dips! If you do heavy compound exercises. You don't EVER have to do a crunch again. They SUCK! The compound exercises force your abs to stabilize your body (which is the primary function of the abs), lifting heavy puts a lot of stress on them, more than you could ever achieve with any direct ab exercises without injuring yourself. This will force your core to strengthen and grow.
Man..thank you so so much for your reply which really came at its perfect time!! why? because I am reading, watching a lot about those compound exercises which I just gave it a go in the gym...and guess what? I just loved them and what they can do for your body. Bro, I'm just a new lifter and this piece of info you gave really made my day! so that I don't have to worry about abs exercises at the end of the workout which I never liked actually...thank you so much brother. Peace always :)
ahmed jumah No problem! If you're just starting out and want to make fast gains, I HIGHLY recomment the Stronglifts program, you can download the program for free at stronglifts (dot) com I started out with that and my squats went from an empty bar to 350lbs in 6 months. Follow the program and add Pull ups and Dips at the end of each exercise and you'll be amazed at the transformation your body will make within weeks. If you also want to burn some extra fat do 10 min of cardio after you finish lifting 10 sets of 30 sprint/30 walk back to back, which makes 10 min. Don't forget to stretch and warm up before you start lifting (not too intensive... just 5 min. don't burn yourself out before you start lifting).
Delano Lowes
what a coincidence man!!..Stronglifts IS the one I have been reading about now for almost two days, I already downloaded the pack. However, haven't started yet but I did some lifts this week to see my max. and WOW I congratulate you for your results...it is very nice that I found someone who's done this program and telling me how effective it is...very motivational. Stay strong :)
Watch the video he says. Quick to talk.
Best thing I saw all day. I just learned about vacuums not too long ago and they're really good.
I don't have any triangles in my belly. Does that mean I just can do crunches without being set out of my gym??
Dude, all of your videos are great. This one in particular is quite thorough. Some really strange comments below that i've seen that have really kind of missed the boat a little bit. Ignore those and keep preaching, it's great content.
Now I'm afraid to do any ab exercises like the crunch. Is it just the crunch that causes this?
aaron Gregor sit up if you recruit your hip flextures
Can't get enough of your videos...
gotta go to sleep now because I have school tomorrow and I don't wanna lose dem gainz though.
To stretch:
Do a lunge with your trail leg knee to the ground.
Keep back and pelvis straight (tense abs slightly) and then move body and pelvis forward slightly.
You should feel the stretch in the trail leg with your knee on the ground - the full length of the frontal quad muscle to the pelvis.
Hold for a few seconds and then change legs and then repeat.
Do this every day or every training day.
I am 23 years old and I have mild anterior pelvic tilt from bad sitting and standing habits. I am not out of shape and have been weight lifting on and off for 4 years now. This form makes it look like my bum sticks out, and the arc in my back pushes my stomach and chest out. This position feels like I'm standing straight, but in reality is very bad for my posture (neck extended forward and shoulders hunched over). I just watched another strengthcamp video about posture and realized why I feel so tired. Not enough oxygen in the lungs and psychological impedance of having little to no energy during the day. Bad habits will catch up to you! I will test out the vacuuming technique in hopes to help relieve back strain and posture correction. Thanks Elliot!
Same problem here lad. Working on it myself! Which video is it about getting more oxygen? I've recently stated standing up taller shoulders back and chest out since Christmas and I do seem to have more energy I think it's a mixture of things tho
I don't get it... When am I supposed to do the vaccum thing? What excersises am I supposed to do for my stomach instead then?
mother of 4 speaking here, i discovered vacumming years ago which helped me strengthen my abs and slim down my waist. i do this while doung my chores, while showering, while pushing the pram. you basically do a big inhale and as you exhale you bring your ab muscles in until there's no more air to breath out. hold that muscle tention for 20 to 30 seconds while breathing. breathing should be well controlled. then relax for 20 seconds then repeat until exhaustion.
i applied vacuuming when lifting at the gym. great for the waist.
+JancenRevo
yeah but stay at home mothers are supposed to do the vacuuming anyway
+Counterweight LMAO now that's funny :)
***** why would I deadlift light weights?
I had a personal coach teach me the stomach vacuum. I totally forgot about this exercise Elliott. Thank you!
Will I die if I do crunches?
Yes.
With a cactus
Legio207 that's white
ChangTusk That says "Moo" every 24 hrs
KrayKenshin ruined the joke
Please post a video with exercises used to reduce this anterior pelvic tilt!! I've subscribed so looking forward to it, thanks mate!
Wow u look 10 years younger here
i think its the hair cut
I think it's his shaved face and the fact this video was made 4 years ago.
Still, he's in his 30s. I suspect he's had treatment to reverse the effects of ageing.
he is clearly wearing make up
Dude, I love the information that you pass, Im from Brazil, Sometimes it's hard to understand what you're saying but its still pretty good!
kkkkkkkk
I like him better back then. He doesn't swear which is much more appealing and professional, and he's less in your face (in the camera's face)
No offense intended. Are you from the USA? Americans take themselves too seriously. lololol. The rest of the developed world openly use swear words because they understand that they are just words. They understand the difference between formal and informal. The call each other C**T as a term of endearment. And they are more advanced, socially, than us in a lot of ways. There's less judgemental BS because they focus on what matters. The only time they pay attention to what comes out of the mouth is whether or not there's hate attached to it. If I say, "For Fuck's Sake..." there is a different connotation than if I said, "you're a fuck face." It's what is inferred that gives a word power. Not the word itself. AMericans need to lighten the fuck up lolololol. They are just words. Not dicks. Don't take them so hard ;) haha. All in good fun.
But don't you feel that back then he was unsure of himself?
The cursing and that attitude kinda feels more authentic
He is being real
i agree
wow thanks for the video elliot. I've been on a marathon watching your videos because I learn so much from them. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos
I think he means dont do situps, crunches are fine
Do you really think that's what this man was trying to convey? Do you REALLY think that he posted a video and said "woops I didn't mean that. Oh well I'm sure whoever watched this video will figure it out."? Honestly?! He obviously did more than enough research to know what the fuck he MEANT.
MarioThaMonkey I believe GuiltyAssCharger is right. You can see people doing situps in this video of Elliott titled "Weighed Crunches": /watch?v=USHOIiQdGDY
Maybe it's a common mistake, as I used to call them crunches for years before I realised I was wrong.
I was being playfully blunt lol but yeah I understand. Full movement is different. I just feel a little hostile toward people who call other people out on stuff. I mean the dude obviously try to at least know why he thinks he's right. Idk. I understand though. Thanks for the correction.
Thank You! My lumbar curve has become extremely exaggerated over the years. Doing crunches or sit ups would probably shorten the hip flexors much quicker than of course sitting. Most workout enthusiasts, trainers and the like, have exaggerated lumbar curves, so this makes total sense. An exaggerated lumbar curve causes back problems. Yoga and Pilates, Planks all the way!
He means SITUPS. Not crunches. He made a mistake people!
Aside from u being extremely blessed with good looks, u are very astute/intelligent. Thanks for this video, u explain this belly-crunching, problem well. Sent this video to my 3 children. God Bless.
Elliot is pretty good at being a strength athlete and running his camp. But he seems to overstep it when it comes to talking, he talks so much I think he confuses himself as well as his watchers. In other words he's just a professional broscientist with a pHd in bro-ology.
He wouldn't have gotten half as much exposure if he didn't talk. The key to being successful is talking. Charisma over content anyway. If you sell your ideas with enough confidence and charisma, people shall value you no matter the validity of your content.
Better than your uploads.
Love all of Elliott's videos, but these old school ones are awesome with the whiteboard and markers!
tyler1 is that you???????????
hehe xd
I was looking for this comment hehe xd
hehe xd
I have the book "Unleashing the Wild Physique" by Vince Gironda, and I'm glad you explained this.Thanks!!
Don't crunch? You ever watch a manny pacquiao or floyd mayweather workout?
I received my PhD in Physical Therapy from TWU 17 years ago and have been treating sports related injuries ever since. I believe I'm well qualified to vouch for the validity of his ideology. I am fairly certain by your rambling that you probably attended a weekend seminar from some "clown", bought into his ideas, and now you are an authority on sports physiology. In all honesty I hope you continue training,and training others, by your methods. That is job security for me and my colleagues.Thanks
lol i learned nothing.... you should get your point out. THEN elaborate. We learn that in elementary. less gym, more school.
***** only because he dosent agree with the video does not mean its not a good comment, i agree with his comment!
***** butt hurt fanboy granny fetishist?
nice profile pic lololololololol
***** i know right?
I'm still trying to work out what exercise we should be doing from this video O_o
You know what I leaned in elementary school? I learned to capitalize the first letter of a sentence, or the letter "I" when referring to myself. I'm sorry if your attention span is too short to follow a 13 minute presentation; but that's on you, not him.
More gym *and* more school.
Vlaka the point of this video wasn't to explain what exercises to do, he made a later video about that that he links to at 9:23. This one is more specifically about crunches and why they may not be as great as most think they are.
I was thinking of questions I had to this theory while you were starting to explain it, then you started answering them all one by one. Great video.
Well, whether Vince says it or not, the point in this video (the effects of belly-crunching) makes perfect sense. My son (a US Marine) always wondered why his lower belly would never go away even though he did 100 crunches daily, in addition, his lower back has always been a painful issue. Well now we know why. God Bless.
Wow.... Thanks for breaking this down... Please a video on how Vince structure his works for athletic
Love you information bro, awesome!! I was just a bit confused about what or how exactly to vacuum. Thanks to the internet at least you gave me a starting point. You, or Vince made a lot of sense. I do a lot of crunches and have lost 40 lbs. at 57 yrs old. The belly fat is what I'm currently working on and it's a pain.
Thanks for your altruistic, noble gesture in sharing this wealth of knowledge and wisdom. All the best!
Unlike most other ab exercises, crunches are designed to REMOVE the hip flexors from the equation...That's the whole point of the crunch movement in the first place. You seemed to have gotten it the wrong way around. The anterior pelvic tilt actually gets worse when the Lumbar family of lower back muscles starts to overpower the tension across the FRONT of the spine. This is actually one of the reasons why most modern pro bodybuilders have the unnactractive posture you describe - hips tilted forward, butt sticking out, stomach sticking out (e.g. watch Dextor jackson when he's walking out on stage). With todays emphasis in bodybuilding on developing the "christmas tree" lower back thickness, the Lumbar family of muscles get so strong and overly-developed as to start pulling the pelvis from the rear towards the middle spine, thereby increasing the concavity of the lower back when viewed from the rear (possibly the worst example being Kai Green). The best exercise to counteract this? CRUNCHES. Lower back stretching is the other counter move...e.g. lying on the floor on your back and pulling your knees twowards your chest by hugging them with your arms. And with reagrds to Arnold, yes sure he did vaccums, but he also did LOADS of Roman Chair situps - which was one of the most popular ab exercises in the "Golden Era". And what muscles are activated heavily with the Roman? The HIP FLEXORS...whilst the abs are simply locking the upper body straight.
Just watched this video, and I already knew that so much sitting takes years off of your life in addition to the negative imacpt on my strength training. So, I got off of my lazy butt,and just turned my desk into a standing desk. No longer procrastinating or making excuses thinking I'm going to build some great standing desk. Just did it with what was around me (luckily I work from home). Thanks for the motivation as always!
Awesome info, been doing this for two weeks now and already noticing a difference.
Dude, I've subscribed, I've watched a few videos, and I gotta say, I really like what I see.
Keep it up man, awesome work
Holy shit it’s 2021 now and this idea is so mainstream now. Elliot is the truth!
Don't go the sit ups because they promote bad habits. This doesn't mean crnches are bad, but people's bodies will naturally try and find the easiest way to do something which for people like me was due to the hyperactive hip-flexor. Thank you for the information. It really helped.
this video is awesome. it has described exactly the pain i've had over the years whilte doing athletics. thanks for the info
My savior? Dude, if this works, you are the man. I have two ruptured discs and have never been told how to get my hip flexors to not be so tight and how to strengthen my core like you do. I'll start this program and let you know how it does.
some internal obliques (esp. when incorporating a controlled twisting motion [ie bringing knee towards elbow], which turns a static move into one that is not so static = an ideal move for runners) which (from the video at 10:20) stimulates the TCF = vacuuming!
Damn, this is brilliant. Another Elliot video completely changes the way I think.
Though you kept referring to crunches you described situps and not crunches. Crunches work the back flexors and situps work the hip flexors (iliacus and psoas = iliopsoas) muscles.
very good to know. i am a rower and i think i have to tell my coach about the shortened hip flexor part of this video, as you need all the explosiveness you can get from the lower part of your body. i like everything about this and i especially like how you are so very well spoken. very informative! thanks!
i used to do 500+ leg lifts a day and i had an amazing looking core, but i could never do squats because it KILLED my hamstrings. not only that, the weight on my shoulders, even as little as 135lbs, hurt my back tremendously. This explains it all. thank you so much, now it makes sense
I have been sitting all day everyday for years.. this video explains so much.. going to stand more often in the day
Thank you for this! This describes PERFECTLY what I was experiencing with my abs and lower back, and what I need to fix. I'm at a good steady workout pace, but I wondered why my stomach was pushing out and ass up.
A point on static exercises (such as the plank): from reading, it seems that a static plank is great for training the body to keep a neutral spine, but not necessarily ideal for running...
I may be wrong, but from what I understand in this video is that you should engage your whole core at one time, keeping ALL of it tight (so the tranverse abdominals and the internal obliques!)
Deadlift will help strengthen the glutes and hamstrings. If you have anterior pelvic tilt you may have to learn the hamstring stretch that allows for a neutral spine position while stretching. This will help allow you to engage the appropriate muscles while keeping the spine in the neutral position to safely deadlift. The dead lift will help correct muscular imbalances, correct poor posture, basically the deadlift will make you look better, feel better, and have some useful strength in your body. The farmers walk will do the same when performed correctly, basically strong man movements have a place in your weight training program.
Great lesson on anatomy and dysfunction diagnosis! So, what is the corrective measure that should be taken? In plain terms, what kind of vacuuming exercises should be done? Just planks? That's technically core stability! Not sure what your point was.
Makes lots of sense & I do thoroughly enjoy your videos because they're educational & informative. What is your educational background please?
Plank and plank variations for the abdominals. Lots of stability, balance, and core strengthening exercises. Kettlebells are great for hips as well.
SUBBED. you go into so much detail and dont just talk any old shit. very impressed! keep it up man
Nice video Elliot! Swiss ball crunches with a heavy dumbbell will ISOLATE the abdominals, addressing the problem of hip-flexor engagement. Do this while "vacuuming" and you have a secret weapon in your arsenal for anyone interested in athletic performance and aesthetics. Cheers!
Yes the issue of pelvic tilt is of great importance in the realm of internal martial arts...
How is this the top comment?? do you not think before you type? First off this video is titled 'Do Not Crunch'. It isn't called 'How to do Vacuuming Exercises'. If you did think for 5 seconds you'd realize that in the time it took you to write you're whiny little comment you could have simply used the search bar to find a video explaining the exercise in question. You people need someone to hold you hand on everything. Appreciate that it's a free video and he's nice enough to share his knowledge
I'm a PT and I get people to use vacuuming all the time haha.
But then I was lucky enough to come across Vacuum Training a few years ago and has helped me alot.
Makes so much sense. I never really train abs. I started this past week going @ abs hard… & I couldn’t figure out why my hips, lower / middle back , hip flexors & hamstrings hurt so incredibly bad …
Plus instead of flat nice looking abs, my wife said wow your belly is looking thick , like it’s bulky …. Fucking A … no man wants that..
You just a BIG ASS BALL OF KNOWLEDGE ! Gonna try vacuuming!!! THANKS
this video was so useful for me. I have terrible flexibility in my hamstrings and I've hurt them several times. A bad back injury which after 2 years has sort of healed but left me with a ton of problems. Not to mention the curve in my lower back just looks unnatural. Oh and a gut that sticks out a lot.
u just diognosed a problim i hav had for tha last year! yo el u da man. much love frm NZ
Plus (as Elliot mentions is a big no-no when deciding core exercises), there's no flexion of the hips involved, so you won't get help from your hip-flexors within the workout. So you are isolating your core much more effectively. I also get the impression that it fits the criteria for "vacuuming" exercises in that you are working your tranverse abdominals and
thats a good point, however is someone has overactive hip flexors they most likely have weakened rectus and transverse abdominals (along with many other parts of the local stabilization system) which would most likely cause the type of synergistic dominance as kinda described by elliot. for example doing the standard crunch if the abdominals are weak the body compensates by engaging the psoas muscles which is a deep hip flexor and agrees with this theory
no problem man, happy to spread the knowledge :)
Vacumming can be as “Hipeflexivos” or hipoflexive excercises to upload the inner organs and also the back muscules and abs muscles.
although I may not have a profound amount of knowledge in fitness, I recognize planks as a pretty good exercise... Where it is possible to do hundreds of crunches (likely using more hip flexors than actual abs...) it's much more challenging to do a minute or 2 of planks... you really feel your core working!
When I first watched this guy I didnt think much ofhim, but he actually knows his shit.. Deffo subbed.. thanks!
I am glad I found your page today. Your videos are helpful amd explain things well. Ken Griffey Jr. fan too bad you didn't train him.
There are ways but it takes a lot of time. Firstly stop doing crunches / leg raises / anything else that tightens hip flexors. If you need to do ab work I normally try reverse crunches or planks.
Strength the hamstrings, SLDL work well for hamstrings / glutes. And stretch out the quads / hip flexors with the standing quad stretch and the lunging stretch.
It won't be an overnight fix, but years of damage needs a fair bit of time to repair, hope this helps.