Minutemen Youth Wrestling

Strong stomachs are very important. Crunches: These are great sit-ups to get you going. Your legs should be bent, your chin should be facing the ceiling, and you should sit-up so your shoulder blades are slightly off the ground, keeping your stomach tight. Begin with about 25 and work your way up to 100. Side Crunches: All the same rules apply with the regular crunches, only your legs are bent and leaning over to one side. Do your crunches normally, keeping your shoulders slightly off the ground. Again, begin with about 25 on each side and work your way up. -A great exercise is to do the crunches in a combination of regular crunches and side crunches. Begin with regular crunches, move your legs to the side and do some side crunches, move your legs back to the middle for some more regular crunches, and then move them to the other side for some more side crunches. - A fun way to do sit-ups as a squad is to do it to music. One eight count of crunches to the middle, the next eight count to the side, back to the middle for another eight count and so on! Toe Touch/Pike Sit-ups: This is a great exercise to help with your toe touches! Begin by lying down with your legs straight and your arms above your head. In one quick and sharp motion bring your legs and body up into a toe touch position. Quickly snap your legs back together and return to the lying position on the floor. You may also want to increase the difficulty level by doing the same exercise only in a piked position. A good amount of these sit-ups is about three sets of 10. Leg Lifts: Lay on the ground with your legs straight out in front of you. Try to lay in front of something you can grab onto, for instance, a bed post. Lift your legs to a 90 degree angle and then lower them down until they almost touch the ground, and then repeat. Begin with 20 and work your way up. Partner Leg Lifts: Have one person lay straight on the ground with their legs out in front of them. The other person will stand just above the head of their partner. The person on the ground will grab onto the ankles of their partner and lift his/her legs to a 90 degree angle. The partner standing up will push their partners legs down as hard as they can. You want to try to push their legs all the way to the ground. The person on the ground will resist and try to stop their legs before they hit the ground. They will then bring their legs back up and the process will happen again. This exercise works your lower abdominals.