I have an app I paid for that I really love to learn about as much as I can about the different areas of the body, and one area that I love most is that they offer every single body-weight exercise you can possibly imagine doing with the human body. Tons of amazing information and animations on how to do all of these exercises properly.
I wanted to share the most popular and frequently used body-weight exercise within the Polykinetics method with information provided for using the iMuscle 2™ app to describe the vertical core crunch exercise. At the bottom of this post will be all the benefits of this particular exercise; physically and mentally. I expect skeptics, but again, none of what I'm sharing is new, just not well-known. There's a difference. Moving on.
NOTE: The app only shows this exercise being performed using a machine....you don't need this machine to this this exercise. Little upset they don't show it without the machine, but maybe they'll read this and update their information.
STEP 1: Stand up nice and tall, shoulders back, head up, and arms can actually be used in several different ways--I'll get into that in a future post---to change the focus area in the core, or, change the intensity of the impact of the exercise, the arms can be positioned in several ways depending on what you want.
The choice is yours when you workout alone.
In a class, the instructor will tell you exactly what to do and where to put your arms, but for the sake of this it's in terms of someone exercising alone.
STEP 2: Lean slightly forward and contract the core muscles, pulling the shoulders forward as you lean forward and downward. This is actually 2 really small moves molded into one.
STEP 3: Return to position 1. Done!
LASTLY keep in mind this is just 1 VARIATION of a whole spectrum of variations you can use such as: side-to-side, leaning forward, leaning backward, speeds, etc. It's a unique trait that easily places this as my favorite physical exercise on this earth, the 2nd would be squats. This coming from someone who doesn't enjoy having to workout. I workout because I have to, not because I really want to.
Simple right? Absolutely. Easy to do for a long time? Absolutely NOT.
This exercise will intensify with every single execution, and every single second, if done properly. Kind of feels like a game of "how long can you last", and that's where I find a lot of fun and frankly entertainment doing this particular exercise.
The benefits of the VCC exercise are vasts. Physically and mentally. The physical part is pretty unique. I'm an unfortunate and regretful cigarette smoker (no ones perfect!), however when I do this exercise frequently, the "force" of the core contractions are able to help keep my airways clear of any smoke-related congestion.
I will cough up "chunks" (sexy I know) of congestion essentially clearing my airways completely over the course of several weeks. It is my go-to to help clear congestion out of my chest without having to exhaust my physical energy considering how pragmatic this exercise is compared to others. That's why this exercise is #1 in my book and ALWAYS will be!
Another interesting benefit noted was the clearing of what's commonly known as "brain fog". Mental clarity was one of the 1st benefits I noticed in my initial research. The exercise pushes large amounts of oxygen to the brain similarly the way a paramedic would use the face mask with the big squeeze bag attached (I know there's a name for it, but I'm a little lazy right now)---but yes---the VCC exercise works in the exact same way, only you're awake and well, not unconscious. Thank goodness.
Here's some info via iMuscle 2 app listing even MORE physical benefits of the VCC exercise and the areas this 1 exercise can improve.
Thanks for reading and hope it helps!
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