Last month's abdominal training article provided a detailed look at the abdominal musculature anatomy. Make sure you review the article in the last issue if you're a new subscriber. You'll want to begin with that level of abdominal exercise to strengthen the muscles with the least risk of injury. After a few weeks of the beginning level exercises, if you haven't experienced any back pain or discomfort, you're ready for an advance.

Basic crunches, crunches with the knees up, and oblique crunches were 3 of the five exercises suggested last month. They emphasize all four basic muscle groups of the abs with the low back supported. It is important to use these exercises as a warm up before the intermediate ones that we'll discuss next. I would suggest 15-25 of each performed in a controlled manner with a tight contraction at the top. Do the exercises in the order written, take a two-minute rest, and then repeat. Now you're ready to move on!

Since you're warmed-up, I want you to start with the most challenging exercises first before your abs are too fatigued. I'm going to pick an exercise discussed last month to begin this routine.

Reverse Crunches are very demanding on the lower abdominals but can be a risk to the lower back if not done carefully. Make sure you support your sacrum by placing your hands, palms down, on both sides to cradle your sacrum. Start with your knees pulled up to your chest and extend your knees and hips slowly until your hip joint is at a 45 degree angle. Your low back should not lift off the floor any higher than the starting position. If you can't control your spine from flexing, your lower abs are too weak yet for this exercise. Part of the exercise is to control your spine in a neutral position so your abs do all the work. Pull your knees back up toward your chest by flexing at your hips and bending your knees. The most important part of this movement is to raise your pelvis off the floor as you crunch your knees up to your chest. Hold this hard contraction for one full second. Slowly lower your pelvis and begin extending your hips and knees to the 45 degree position. If you can reach this position with no back discomfort and without feeling your low back coming off the floor, you can try to lower your legs closer to the floor as a greater challenge.

Bench Knee-Ups are the last exercise shown last month. You should move right into a set of these after the reverse crunches. You have worked your lower abs very hard with the reverse crunches and we're going to continue working them but decrease the amount of force used while also using the upper abs at the same time. Bench knee-ups use the upper and lower abs by using your pelvis as a fulcrum while the origin and insertion of the abdominal wall contract toward each other. You can perform these on the floor if you don't have a bench available. Simply place your hands on the floor by your hips for balance or straight out in front of you for balance. Extend your legs outward in the same way you did during reverse crunches but lean back with your upper body at the same time. Keep your abdominal wall/spine curved (flexed) in a concave manner to keep the tension on your abs and off your spine. Leaning back and extending your legs will challenge your coordination until you get used to it. Even if it's difficult and you find yourself see-sawing back and forth trying to keep your balance, don't forget to focus on your abs and contract them hard at the top of the movement. Within a couple sessions, you'll have a lot more control.

Constant-Tension Oblique Twists are the final exercise in this tri-set. During the warm-up, you did two sets of oblique crunches which involved twisting your trunk during a conventional crunch so that one elbow touched the opposite knee. You then laid back into the starting position and alternated to the opposite side. Constant-tension oblique twists require that you come up into the contracted position of a regular crunch. Now, twist toward one side and reach just a little bit further with an elbow toward the opposite knee. Without lying back down, twist over to the other side and reach out with the other elbow toward the opposite knee. Alternate back and forth without ever coming back down. You'll be keeping constant tension on your abdominal wall (rectus abdominis) while using your internal and external obliques to twist and lift your rib cage. Make sure you go for that extra little contraction with your obliques as you stretch your elbow toward the knee and lift your rib cage slightly. Pause for just a second and squeeze before reversing to the other side.

You'll need to lie there for a few seconds and catch your breath after completing all three exercises in succession. Start by doing just as many repetitions as you can for each exercise without losing good form. The entire routine might look something like this:

Crunches 25x

Crunches with knees up 15x

Oblique crunches 20x

(repeat after 2 minute rest)

Reverse crunches 10x

Bench knee-ups 20x

Constant -tension oblique twists 20x

(repeat after 2 minute rest)

This entire abdominal routine will probably take less than 15 minutes but is an excellent routine to hit every abdominal muscle from multiple angles. You won't need any equipment and can do the entire session on your living room floor. To advance this routine, simply do more repetitions in each set and/or add a third tri-set. Remember, stop any exercise if it causes you back pain and if you don't think you're doing the exercises properly, it's always a good idea to schedule a session with a qualified personal trainer who can help you especially with beginning instruction.

Next month I have a crushing advanced-level routine planned, so keep up with this routine 2-3 times per week to get ready!

Rachelle Ellington is a Certified Personal Trainer and the manager of the Fitness Zone in Evansville, Indiana. She has a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in Education. Mrs. Ellington has competed at the national-level as a natural bodybuilder and won the Best Poser award at the World Cup Bodybuilding Championships.