In addition to working the abdominals for fitness, this exercise also strengthens the stomach for when you need to go with the opponent to the ground. And while it is fairly simple, it is also a bit difficult to do correctly.
Essentially, it involves trying to pull the belly button in towards the spine. Since it involves muscles that you might not be used to activating, it can be a bit tricky.
Begin by lieing on your stomach. You can also kneel, so try both ways to see which helps you feel the exercise better.
Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower abdominals to move your belly button inward towards your spine. Hold this position fo 10 seconds, but if it feels easy, then hold for a longer period.
The goal is to hold the contraction until you either cannot feel it or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the contraction out.
Repeat this for 3 sets of 15 reps, and over a very short period of time you will find a great deal of strength beginning in your abdominal region.
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