Master class; when and where to weight with Karen Voight

American Fitness, July-August, 1990

Master Class

When and where to weight with Karen Voight.

For those high-powered workouts that require added resistance, a properly placed weight makes all the difference. Knowing when and where to weight, according to internationally known instructor Karen Voight, can have a tremendous impact on your results.

Voight suggests weighting a movement when weaker muscles need to be isolated and safely overloaded in order to better balance with stronger muscles. She also trains instructors to weight when an exercise appears too easy for a class, and they find students mindlessly going through the action. "When focused awareness drops off and momentum takes over, add resistance," says Voight. "This happens during abdominal work. We get so used to doing so many, there's no real focus going on. In addition, the smaller muscles, such as the external obliques, rarely get a concentrated workout."

As far as where to weight is concerned, check the following floor exercises. Voight shows her top-notch form, demonstrating optimal placement of a body ball during abdominal work.

1. Oblique Curl

Hold the body ball against the upper chest on the lifting side. Bring the shoulder toward the opposite hip bone so the oblique muscles do the primary work. The weight assists students in avoiding the famous "body fold," where the body tends to collapse rather than lift.

2. Raised Leg Curl

Hold the body ball behind the knee and push ball away from the back of the leg, keeping the leg stationary. This set is done as peak contraction work. Hold the contraction for a few seconds, and then try to contract just one more inch.

3. Overhead Curl

Start with the body ball just above the forehead, body as positioned.

As the leg raises straight up, the arms raise overhead and the shoulders come off the floor. Try to get the body ball as close to the leg as possible without moving the leg toward the head.

4. Canoe-Shaped Curl

Perform a curl, pushing the body ball over the top of the knees. Focus on curling the trunk toward the thighs instead of just lifting the shoulders off the ground. The action is more of a scooped out posture -- like a canoe. Make sure the pelvis is tilted up.

5. Reverse Curl

Here is the best way to work the lower abdominal region. Cross the ankles and let the knees separate. Place arms overhead, palms up. Placing the arms here keeps them from leveraging the hips as they roll up. Keep the heels close to the buttocks so the hip flexors aren't employed when lifting the hips up. This move also gives the back a good stretch which facilitates the crunch of the lower abdominal area.

6. Abdominal Crunch with Sartorius Involvement

Start with leg up in the air, knee turned out as pictured. Place body ball on upper chest.

As you bring the chest up and hips off the floor, bend the leg and direct the knee outward, with the heel toward the chin.

7. Internal Obliques

Knees together, feet together, hold the body ball along side the outer thigh near the knee. Use rectus abdominis as a stabilizer to lift and maintain the shoulder off the floor. This involves some external oblique action, but the move is primarily felt in the internal obliques. Bring the body ball over the top of the knees to the other side. The motion is from right to left as opposed to up and down.

8. Curl with Pelvic Tilt

The body ball is under the chin, resting on the sternum. Execute a curl touching the ball to the forward knee or as close as possible. The slight pelvic tilt prevents the body weight from being transferred onto the buttocks. Press the body weight on the lower back.

9. One-Leg Reverse Curl

With the body ball tucked between the hamstring and the calf, perform a reverse curl by first tilting the pelvis, then simultaneously moving the chest and knee toward each other. Placing the weight in this position provides resistance for the reverse curl. The leg moves as a result of the reverse curl -- it doesn't initiate the move.