Words: Gentleman's Journal
In Part 1 of the Simple Fitness series we discussed the all-time classic exercise in the Press Up and how effective it is in improving fitness and strength quickly. In Part 2 we will discuss abdominal workouts and how dramatic a difference a powerful core can make on your strength and fitness. All this with just a few minutes of abdominal exercises throughout the week.
Abdominal workouts are amongst the simplest and most effective movements one might do in the search for fitness, and yet it is one of the most neglected movements by regular gym goers today.
Some of you may know or have known at least one guy who always had an insane set of abdominals – I bet it was the same guy who was the best at sports, won all the big athletic events, not to mention swooned a pretty lady or two – am I right? The truth is, a strong powerful core provides support for your entire body, giving it the perfect platform from which to become way more athletic than it could be otherwise. If you think of the rest of your muscles in your body as an elastic band and your abdominals as the pencil to fire it from then it’s easy to visualize the difference a strong core can make on your physique. Would your rather fire an elastic band from a thick pencil or from a flimsy finger? What is so great is that it can be so easily achieved and improved upon in a very short space in time, without a lot of effort.
The abdominal exercise we’re exploring today is named the Jack knife Sit Up. A very simple abdominal exercise favoured by most athletically based sports.
Lie flat on the floor on your back with your arms extended straight back behind your head and your legs extended also. This will be your starting position.
As you exhale, bend at the waist while simultaneously raising your legs and arms to meet in a jackknife position. Tip: The legs should be extended and lifted at approximately a 35-45 degree angle from the floor and the arms should be extended and parallel to your legs. The upper torso should be off the floor.
While inhaling, lower your arms and legs back to the starting position. Then repeat.
You now have two Simple Fitness exercises that can be performed quickly and effectively a few times a week. A good way to involve both in one workout is to perform them as a superset. This means that you do a set of one exercise, then immediately perform a set on the other exercise – then rest for a couple minutes, and repeat until all the sets are completed. Quick and easy.
The Split:
3 Sets of 10 Repetitions.
1 minute rest in between sets.
4 to 5 sets per week.
Super Set Split:
1 set of 10 press ups followed by 1 set of 10 Jack knives.
Rest 90 seconds, then repeat 2 more times.
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