It’s officially BIKINI SEASON! Are you ready to bare your belly? Whether you’re looking sculpted or just getting started, IFBB Pro Juliana Daniell has some exercises to kick up your training intensity and build beautiful bikini abs!
This week, Juliana demonstrates RESISTANCE BAND SIT-UPS—an amped up version of a basic abdominal exercise. By adding the resistance band to the typical sit-up, you can feel the exercise deep in the muscle, explained Juliana. She added that this exercise has made a considerable difference in her abdominal development and that it’s one of her staples when she’s traveling.
All levels can perform this exercise—you can adjust the intensity with the resistance band that you choose. (Tension varies between bands and is usually indicated by band color. The typical tension spectrum is as follows, from lightest to heaviest: yellow, green, red, blue and black.)
How To Do It
1. Loops a band through something stable.
2. Lie on back with your head (rather than your feet) closest to the band. The top of your head should be positioned a few feet from where the band is looped so that there is sufficient tension.
3. Hook your foot under something to help you stay stable and achieve a better range of motion. You can use a piece of furniture, a partner or dumbbells (as shown).
4. Grab an end of the band with each hand. You don’t need to hold the handles.
5. Raise your body up into a full sit-up position.
6. Squeeze your abs hard at the top, and slowly lower your body back to the ground.
Perform 4 sets of 20 reps.
Juliana’s Tips
– To make the sit-up more challenging, grab the band further up from its ends. This will decrease the slack in the band and increase the tension.
– Make sure to slowly roll down when returning to the starting position to ensure that you get maximum benefit from the entire movement.
