Form help - superman raises

DaneanP

I don't think I'm doing these correctly but I'm not sure how to correct my form. I feel it in my lower back so the legs aren't my problem. But as a fairly well endowed woman up top, I just cannot lift my chest up off the floor. I can feel the lift sensation in my shoulders and I'm being careful to keep my neck/spine neutral. But how do I get my chest up more?

Is it just something that will get stronger over time? Or is this a move that larger-chested women just won't ever be able to master?

suruda

we do these in Pilates all the time, I do think you get stronger over time but as another larger chested woman, I don't think I will ever lift my chest off the floor. The chest movement for sure is a small one!

DaneanP

I know this is a core-strengthening move, but I do not feel it at all in my abs. When I watch the youtube videos it is always a very fit, smaller chested woman basically balancing on her abs, making a perfect c-curve with her body.

Makes me sad I cannot do it.

ereck44

Thanks for posting this. I too struggle with this exercise. I never feel it in the "abs". It is a hard exercise and I'd rather do push-ups than this exercise.

rileyes

Are you engaging your glutes and pushing your pelvis to the floor? It gets better over time.

Edit: also try engaging the quads.

DaneanP

rileyes wrote: »

Are you engaging your glutes and pushing your pelvis to the floor? It gets better over time.

Edit: also try engaging the quads.

Well, I definitely feel it in my glutes (upper mainly) and a little bit in my quads as well.

I seem to get more lift up top when I do alternate leg and arm raises but it feels like I'm cheating the move somehow that way. Then again, maybe that extra lift will help my form over time as I get stronger. *shrug* I'm glad to hear it gets better over time.

determined_14

Maybe a trainer could chime in here if I'm wrong, but "core" doesn't only refer to abs: this is primarily a back exercise. Your back is part of your core, you know!

DaneanP

Oh, I totally understand what constitutes the core of the body. On the DVD they mention that this move is for both back and abs. I'm getting the back part for sure. Just not the abs.

determined_14

I just held a superman while using one hand to feel my abs. They were definitely contracting-- not as tightly as, say, a crunch or a plank, but still working. But I agree-- I typically feel it more in the back and hamstrings.

DaneanP

At Mother's Day brunch I asked my sister if she did these. She said no, she did burpees.

I think I'm gonna stop complaining about superman raises now that I remember how much I hate burpees.