Learn to Love the Captain's Chair

FitSugar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:00:00 PST

Even with it's silly name the captain's chair is one of the most effective way to work your abs, and that alone is reason to love it. I find it amazing that such a simple piece of equipment can really work my deep abs. The captain's chair won't give you a six pack, but it will help you develop flat abs since the abdominal muscles are working more as stabilizers against your powerful hip flexors.

Here's how to do the basic move:

Place your forearms on the padded arms and make a soft fist around the hand pegs. Push your elbows into the pads to help press your shoulders away from your ears.
Start with your legs hanging straight down and on an exhale pull your abs toward your spine and bend your knees lifting them toward your chest.
Slowly lower your knees returning to a straight leg position.
Repeat for a total of 10 to 12 reps and do two sets.

This move is an easier version of the hanging leg raises Jessica Biel's trainer has her do. There are endless variations, like twisting your knees to the side to target your obliques. Avoid straight leg lifts on this piece of equipment for doing so puts a lot of stress on the low spine and can cause a back injury.

So do you love the captain's chair or what?

Source

5 Reasons to Love Breaking In

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 03:15:03 PDT

Day three of WonderCon had me sitting down with the cast of Breaking In, the upcoming comedy from Fox premiering April 6 at 9:30 p.m. Airing after American Idol, the show is bound to do pretty well for itself, but I think it's the funny characters, hilarious situations, and total geek cred that will make the show a hit. Christian Slater (who needs no introduction), Odelle Annable (Cloverfield), Bret Harrison (V), and Alphonso McAuley (Pride) star, and after talking with them about working together, office comedies, and tech toys, I found five reasons geeks should tune in. Check it out below.

The writers - The writers of Breaking In are totally legit in their geek cred. Adam F. Goldberg wrote Fanboys and Revenge of the Nerds among others, while Seth Gordon directed such nerdy films as The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, and lent his geeky touch to episodes of The Office and Modern Family. So you know all those geek culture references you find riddled inside the Breaking In trailer are coming from the right place.
Geek culture nuggets - Breaking In is about a high-tech security firm that uses all kinds of technology - from computer software to gadgets - to make clients more secure. Of course, they "test" a client's current security systems by hacking in first, which sets the stage for lots of gadget and tech references. But more than that, there's even an episode where the team has to deliver a copy of (fictional) "Goonies 2: The Legend of Sloth" to a ComicCon like event. Costumes are donned, hilarity ensues, it's sure to entertain.

See the rest of the list after the jump.