As you can see, I'm here on the set of ULTIMATE ARMS, our new program, getting ready here to release it in the coming weeks, and I wanted to make sure though that I didn't miss entirely what you guys want and expect and that's our Ab Workout. And today I've put one together for you using a single Dumbbell. That's right. If you are even working out at home and you want something with a little bit of added resistance. You don't even start you know, buying and investing in all big machines to do this. If you have one single Dumbbell at home you're going to be able to do all four of these exercises. Let me take you through each one, one by one.
Alright the first exercise up here is pretty easy and it's a great way for us to get a little additional weight. It's just a standard Weighted Crunch but the way I hold the Dumbbell and the way I perform the exercise is the key. Do what we call a Levitation Crunch. You try to levitate and push your shoulders straight up into the ceiling. Push that Dumbbell straight up into the ceiling. You don't want to start pushing the Dumbbell forward because as you do, all you're doing is making the exercise easier. The weight of the Dumbbell is actually creating forward momentum to get you up off the ground. If you try to go straight up, remember guys our Physics, you're pushing that Dumbbell right up against gravity, that's what's going to be the toughest, and that's what's going to be most productive for you.
The next exercise here we have is our Leg Raise starting from below but you'll see the positioning that I've established is a bit of a rotated position, pre rotated. I have my Dumbbell here to create a little bit of added resistance to pull me in the direction opposite that my legs want to take me. This, right away is going to increase the activation of our Abs because we know they control rotation, at the same time it's going to involve our Obliques. So we've got an opportunity, as I press both the leg and the Dumbbell up together, to work both from the top down and the bottom up, but include the all important rotation and Obliques in the exercise.
Ok, next we can take this Dumbbell and we can actually do one of my favorite exercises and that's the Ab Wheel Rollout, minus the Ab Wheel. You see if you take the Dumbbell and you position it like an Ab Wheel, all that matters now is that you get your grip pressure and the way you hold the Dumbbell correct. And that's going to allow us to do this great exercise. So as you see me demonstrate here, all I'm doing is really changing the pressure that I'm applying through my forefingers and through my thumb. As I roll out, I want to take all four fingers off and literally push the Dumbbell away from me with my just my thumb. That allows the Dumbbell to spin inside of my hand and not get slowed down or dragged down by friction. But as I come back, what I want to do is then, grasp with the four fingers and then release my thumb from the back side. So that now, I'm able to actually roll the Dumbbell back.
If you grip too hard in both directions, you're going to wind up not allowing the Dumbbell to spin or it's going to feel like it's roughing your hands. To do this exercise properly, you just want to get the feel of it. Practice a few times and you'll get it. And now you're able to do this great Ab exercise without actually even needing an Ab Roller. Of course we can still take advantage of the rolling situation here, by turning our body around and now positioning the Dumbbell under our feet. So here I'm doing a Sprinter Tucked variation of it. I look like a Sprinter, one leg back, one leg up, right. We're mimicking the athletic movement of a Sprint but we're doing it here with a Dumbbell. We're driving forward with one knee, we're driving backwards with the opposite one. Now the great thing about this exercise is, again it's another lower Ab targeted movement because we're working on bottom up. And we can even get a little bit of bottom up stability because we have to balance the positioning of this Dumbbell under my foot.
You might find that it rolls away from you, again manage the pressure in your foot. Become a little bit more, Coordinated and Athletic. It's another benefit of the exercise. But the bottom line is you're able to train your lower Abs the same way you did through the top down with the Rollout, now you can do it in reverse Rollout situation and still using just that single Dumbbell. So there you have it guys, there is a workout you can do at home with just a single Dumbbell. Or if you want to do it in the gym, by all means go for it. It's a new way to train your Abs, again using a little bit of extra resistance and not needing a lot of equipment. And guys, this is what ATHLEANX is all about. You can do all of your workouts, whether you're at home or you're in the gym, it doesn't matter to me. Matter of fact we have a program, you need NO any equipment at all, ATHLEAN XERO. Ranging to hard programs that utilize a lot of equipment in the gym, it's up to you, want level you're at and how far you want to push yourself. And we're talking about programs guys, I mentioned it before, ULTIMATE ARMS is on the way. Sooner than you think.
