Getting Fit - Seated Toe-Touch for lower back and abdominal muscles

The seated to-touch exercise is a good exercise for lower back and abdominal muscles. This is one of  the three abdominal and back exercises that are approved by the American College of Sports Medicine. The other two exercises are the standing catch-stretch and the knee to chest.

In this exercise, it is necessary to keep your legs straight and toes pointed. Don't bounce your body. Hold the stretch for four seconds and return to the starting position. Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.

Unlike the traditional sit ups, this exercise is not harmful to your back.

Here is the video:

Getting Fit - Knee to Chest Exercise for lower back and abdominal muscles

This is a nice demonstration of knee to chest exercise  by Amy McCauley, a certified personal trainer. This exercise is one of the three exercises for the lower back and abdominal muscles that are recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine. The other two exercises are the standing cat-stretch and the seated toe-touch.

According to the uploader, LIVESTRONG.COM, knee to chest exercise is good for the lower back but as you perform this exercise, you will feel that it is also good for abdominal muscles.

As a beginner you must avoid too much exertion. You will notice that recommended exercises are easy and it only follows that these should also be easy routines. I suggest you try first one knee at a time, then both if you can.


Here is the video:

Getting Fit - Standing Cat-Stretch Exercise for lower back and abdominal muscles

The standing cat-stretch is one of the abdominal and lower back exercises that are recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine.

As a beginner, don't arch your back too much. You can position yourself a little bit more upright than what is shown on the video. 

The other two recommended similar exercises are the knee to chest, and the seated toe-touch.

Here is the video:

This is better than doing a 1000 sit ups!

This health and fitness video of Wesley Virgin shows you the proper way of exercising your abdominal muscles. Scientifically speaking, the traditional sit up exercise put to much stress on your back because of its ninety-degree angular movements. To avoid back problems,Wesley recommends this exercise that limits the movement of your back and combine it  with leg movements to compensate for the loss of back movements.

Other abdominal exercises like standing toe-touch, the plow, back bends, and hurdler stretch are considered less effective because of  unnecessary movements that cause stress on your back.

Other recommended abdominal exercises from the American College of Sports Medicine are standing cat-stretch, knee to chest, and seated toe-touch. You must not over-arch your back when performing these exercises.

Here is Wesley's sit up variation video:

Here is the traditional sit up exercise video: