Strength Training Cheats

Got to try this sometime....

THE HANGING KNEE RAISE
The typical cheat: Raising your knees to your chest without curling your torso, which is the key to working your abdominal muscles, says John Williams, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Spectrum Conditioning in Port Washington, New York.
Why it's dumb: It makes the focus of the exercise your hip flexors, not your abs.
How to perfect your form: Grab a pullup bar with a shoulder-width, overhand grip and hang from the bar with your knees slightly bent and feet together. Imagine that you have no legs and tilt your pelvis as high as you can, by pulling your hips up and in. Aim for your knees to touch your shoulders.
How to cheat smart: Perform an "incline reverse crunch." Click on Incline Reverse Crunch in related media to see a video demo. Lie on a slant board with your hips lower than your head, knees slightly bent. Grab the board's handles and pull your hips upward and inward, keeping your knees at the same angle throughout the move. Once you can do three sets of 15 repetitions while holding a 10-pound dumbbell between your feet, go back to the hanging version. The benefit: For those who aren't strong enough to do the hanging knee raise with perfect form, the slant-board variation is the best way to cheat without cheating your abs.