Setup
Secure your feet under the padded bars of a decline bench, with the bench angled 15-30 degrees below horizontal. Lie back with your knees bent and place your hands across your chest or behind your head without interlocking fingers.
How to do it
- Exhale and curl your torso up by contracting your abs, lifting your shoulder blades first then your mid-back.
- Rise until your torso is nearly perpendicular to the floor, keeping your lower back rounded rather than hinging at the hips.
- Pause briefly at the top while maintaining tension in your abs.
- Lower back down with control until your shoulders touch the bench, keeping constant tension on your core.
- Avoid using momentum by maintaining a steady rhythm throughout each rep.
Watch out for
- ✗Pulling on the neck with interlaced fingers instead of keeping the head neutral and hands relaxed.
- ✗Using hip flexors to hinge upward rather than curling the spine through abdominal contraction.
- ✗Dropping back down too quickly and bouncing off the bench instead of controlling the eccentric portion.