CURL-UP

Anthony Cangialosi
Physical Education/Health department
Kean University
Acangiaolsi@kean.edu

ASSESSMENT

In the curl-up assessment, the objective is to complete as many curl-ups at a designed pace. The maximum amount of repetitons one can perform is 75.

The protocal has been adapted from a version by massicote(1990). This version of a sit-up is more effective than a regular sit-up due to lack of twisting and lack of strain it puts on ones back.

Peformance: You want to lie in supine position on the mat. Your knees should be bent at an angle of 140 degrees and feet flat on the floor. The legs are slightly apart and arms are straight parallel to the trunk with the palms of your hands resting of the mat. Next, you want to place a measuring strip under the person's legs, so when he or she comes up from the curl-up their fingertips are touching the edge of it. The tape should be 4 1/2 inches from the performers fingertips. Then you want to place a piece of paper behind their head, so you know they are coming all the way down and correctly completing the assessment. The paper should crunch. Not contacting the paper during the eccentric part of the repetiton will result in a "mess up." We will be having two assessments for this exercise.


first assessment= July 12th
second assessment=july 26th

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The numbers for the guys and girls will be different.

Boys
23 or less= Needs improvement
24-46= Healthy
46 or more= Fit

Girls
18 or less= Needs improvement
19-35= Healthy
35 or more= Fit

PREPARATION

Like all exercises, one must always stretch and warm up prior to performing any exercise. The perfect stretch to use before the curl-up assessment is the trunk lift which stretches out your abdominals. You also want to incorporate shoudler shrugs as a stretch. The curl up engages alot of muscles in your trapezius muscles on the concentric aspect of the repetiton, so you definatly want to loosen up that part of your body which will allow you to obtain more repetitions.




There are many variations to the curl-up that one can do to prepare themselves for this assessment.

-sit ups
-leg raises
-planks
-leg extensions (laying flat on mat)
-oblique twists




If you perform at least 2 of these motions a day of 4 sets of as many repetitons as you can, your core will definatly develop.

CONSISTANCY+ HARD WORK= RESULTS!!

For all of you who looking to enhance atheltic performance or to become more physically fit, consistancy and hard work are needed! When training your body, strengthing the core is crucial in reaching these goals! Having a strong core will create muscle balance throughout one's whole body and also prevent injuries. On top of having a tight flat stomache that everyone wants, developing a strong core benefits the human body as a whole.

The Fitness Gram Testing has assigned a curl-up for you to do. This is a modified sit-up. The curl-up is a more effective core workout that isolates the abdominal region without putting any strain on your back. There are hundreds of ways to work on your core and the curl-up is one that strictly targets the abdominals with the assistance of any other muscles.

You may not realize it, but you are using your core throughout the day. Any sort of balance that you incorporate into your exercises will target your core muscles, which is why you can train your core on a daily basis.