Most of the abdominal exercises including the standard floor crunch will work on the abs with active contraction. The muscles will contract or shorten in order to perform the movements. However, with toe tap exercise, it is designed to offer a basic abdominal movement, which works on abs isometrically and statically. While abdominal muscles may not be the primary movers, they will engage when you do the toe tapping exercise. Since the movement can be a bit difficult, you may want to involve a Port Coquitlam fitness trainer to help you learn the tactics. Here is how you can execute the toe tap moves;
- Lie on the floor with your back and have the arms placed on side and the palms facing the floor.
- Now position the hips and knees to be at 90 degree angle by lifting the feet and bending both the knees. Ensure the thighs are perpendicular to floor while the lower legs are parallel to floor. Throughout the movement, make sure you maintain these joint positions.
- Slowly and quietly begin to tap the left toes to floor and then pull the leg back up so that it gets to the start position. Repeat with the right and alternate the tapping feet. If you feel some pain on lower back, do not bring the toes all way down. Continue alternating side until you do the desired number of reps.
During this exercise, the abdominal muscles will not actively contract and shorten. The hip flexor muscles are the primary movers here. These are the muscles that connect the hip bone to the thigh bone. Flexor muscles are responsible for pulling thighs toward the hip.
During the toe tap, the rectus abdominis, which is the main ab muscle, will isometrically contract in order to stabilize the torso as you do this exercise. If you want to increase difficulty of the exercise, you can lower both feet at the same time. The abdominal muscles will work harder to maintain stability of the torso against the movements induced by both legs when compared to one leg. Alternatively, you may want to toe tap when seated on a bench