START POSITION - Assume the position with hands gently positioned behind your head. Focus your mind entirely on contracting the abdominal muscles even before beginning to lift your shoulders. 

MID/FINISH POSITION - Curl the shoulders up and forward until the upper back lifts off the floor. Flex the ab muscles hard when you lift the shoulders (imagine you are trying to put a dent in the floor with your lower back). Hold the contracted position for a full two seconds before slowly returning to the start position.

Lower Abdominals    Side Obliques     Combinations    Workouts