Why do I feel pain in my neck when I curl up?
This can be a common problem with curl ups (or sit ups) as we tend to think that higher is better and end up pulling on the back of the neck.
Try our 4 Tips to help perfect your curl up without neck pain and effectively target your upper abdominals.
1.Exhale
A lot of the time I see clients rush to get into their curl up and lift up off the floor. Instead take your time and focus on that breath - this prep is key. Inhale wide into the back of your ribcage, then a long exhale (longer than you think) until you feel the breastbone softening - if you don't feel this have a little practice. You should feel that the breastbone softens and you feel like you want to curl up.
2. Break at the Breastbone
When you feel like you want to curl up curl up from the breastbone, this will anchor the back of the ribcage to the floor and make it easier to curl up.
3. Length
Think of lengthening the back of the head towards the ceiling, chin drops towards the chest and think of almost trying to lift the back of your skull off your neck. No pulling please.
4. What are you looking at?
Eyes on the prize (your abdominals) or your knees - this will avoid hyper extending (over arching) your neck.
5. Release the tilt
Keep a little weight on your tailbone so that the pelvis stays in neutral (hip bones and pubic bone level) which will allow your abdominals to work more effectively.
I hope that you've found this useful, Check out our short video here to help further and drop us a comment below to let us know what you thought.
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