Using Good Form Is Essential If Want Toned Abs:

After 21 years as a Fitness Professional, I am confident when I tell you this: The most common exercise people do incorrectly is a sit-up. Not only can this cause back problems, it will also make your ab workout less effective and cause irritation in your neck and shoulders. So, take a moment---and learn a few tips from your friends at Workouts On Demand.



This image from Wikipedia shows the abdominals in red. These are the muscles we want to target with the crunch.
A common mistake with sit-ups: Overuse of the Hip Flexors.

The Hip flexors are long muscles that run down the side of your abs in front of your legs. These muscles are a very strong and they like to take over during ab exercises when you are using bad form or you're abs are getting tired.

The hip flexors take over mainly when you:

Use momentum during your sit-up.
Don?t tense your abs enough during the motion.
Lift you upper body up instead of curling it as per proper crunch technique.

Getting Started:

Lay on the floor and make sure you lower back is pressed against the ground. It should stay there for the entire sit-up.
Fold your arms over your chest in an X or place your fingers on your temples. You can place your hands behind your head as long as you don't cheat and pull you head up with your arms.
Place your feet flat on the ground about shoulder width apart.
Tense your abs.

The Sit-Up:

Tensing your abs, roll yourself up as far as you can go without lifting your lower back off of the floor. Make sure your abs is what is moving you and not your back or hip flexors.
At the top of the motion, tighten your abs even more to get the final bit of tension.
Slowly lower yourself down, keeping your abs tensed, slower than when you did the upward motion. Aim for about four to five seconds.
Without resting on the floor or relaxing your abs, start the next repetition and repeat the above.
You should breathe in on the decline and breathe out on the upward crunch.
If you can do more than about 15-20 repetitions, you are probably going too fast and not tensing your abs enough.

Stretching Your Abs:

Stretch your abs in between sets by lying on your stomach and, placing your hands on the floor, arch upwards as if you are looking at the sky and feel the stretch in the front.

Here are my biggest no-no's for abs training:

Do not use momentum when doing crunches.
Do not go too fast. As I always say: The slower the motion, the faster the results.
Do not train your abs everyday. Your abs need rest like any other part of your body.

Alright, it's time to get moving. You have a great video and a really good set of instructions! Now, all you need to be successful is about four days every week for about seven minutes a session.