Curl-up: Here is everything about this exercise you should know

Curl-up is a very common exercise form. People with a lot of belly fat can do this exercise as part of their fitness regime. They are often known as crunches too.

Doing a perfect curl-up takes time and regularity. Doing curl-ups will increase your core and abdomen strength. You can do this exercise every day without hesitation or excuse. Let's get to know more about this exercise now and what are its benefits.

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What is Curl-up?

Abs can be achieved with exercise (Image by Szabolcs Toth/Unsplash)

It is an exercise that increases the strength of our abdominal muscles. It builds the endurance of the abdominals and that improves back support, flexibility, and the core. It is done by lying down and then moving the upper body upwards. The body weight is used by the muscles for their strengthening in this exercise form.

This workout is mainly done by bodybuilders, UFC fighters, and strength coaches. To complete one curl-up, up and back have to be counted as one and the sit-up should be perfect. You can do this exercise anywhere. However, you should know the correct way to get results.

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How to do a curl-up?

Improves your flexibility (Image by Conscious Design/Unsplash)

There are a few steps to do perfect curl-ups. Let us now see what they are:

1: You need to lie down on the floor but do not flatten your back.

2: Keep your arms on the floor, along with your hips, under your body.

3: Keep one leg stretched and the other one bent.

4: For the leg that is bent, place your feet flat on the floor.

5: Now slowly raise your neck, head, and shoulders till you can feel your stomach muscles working.

6: Count till three and go back to the starting position.

7: Remember not to hold your breath.

8: Repeat for 10 reps.

9: After that, change the leg and repeat the above steps.

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What are the muscles that are targeted?

The main muscles that are targeted are:

• Rectus Abdominalis
• External oblique
• Internal oblique
• Transvers Abdominalis
• Hip Flexors

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Health benefits

Start your exercise with one leg bent. (Image by Aparn Johri/Unsplash)

If you want a stronger core and abs to flex, there are countless exercises. However, this curl-up exercise has a lot of health benefits which might make you go for it. These are:

• Less back pain: strength increases because the back and the hip muscles are developed and made strong.
• Better posture: Because of a strong core muscle, better posture is built. Also, there are fewer chances of injury and pain. Breathing also improves when the body is not bent.
• Increases muscle mass: Muscles in the abdomen and the hip are conditioned and made strong because of this exercise form.
• Strengthens the core: This is the most important reason why this exercise form is so important and popular. A strong core can save us from a lot of injuries. Thus it enhances our overall fitness and makes us more athletic by nature.
• Better flexibility: It increases hip mobility and removes the stiffness from the spine, thereby making us more flexible.
• Better athletic performance: By making us more flexible, it increases our performance level and our endurance in any sports, and thus chances of injuries or running out of energy are next to zero.
• Enhances fitness: Doing all of the above, makes us very fit and fine.

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To reduce weight, increase your steps. Start running or cycling and try other freehand exercises. Curl-ups can be great when combined with other exercise forms. Remember to control your diet. Do not over-train. It does not take a lot to stay fit. Find time for yourself and work out 30 minutes daily. Start your fitness journey now.