The hanging leg raises-I think they are a great exercise in many ways.

That was part of what I did. Now I'm learning that hanging, though great in many respects, can have its problems.

To start I did bent leg hanging exercises but if you're body isn't balanced the right muscles might not be doing the job quite as they should.

I would find an expert (I don't think all 'experts' are good) and learn from there.

There is some sit-ups stuff i think that can be done but the TA needs to be trained first! (you're using your TA when you pull your belly button to your spine-an action that makes you stronger in all ways!!)

Yeah, though there are guys out there with better abs that mine were in those pics I think its pretty clear that they were in pretty good shape. Not saying don't work abs just saying conventional ways and imbalancing body conditioning has its problems.

The swiss ball curl up (Matts pic) I did earlier on for a bit. I have more resently learned, what I think is a better way.

The Paul Check Swiss ball curl-up works the 6-pak, like Matt said, in a longer range without the focus on bulging by working in the straight tocurled range.

TA (in all exercises) should be drawn in. You start curled over the ball backwards with abs extended and curl up just past center (again though the TA should be trained first! In many of us it doesn't work, largely due to faulty training and bad postural habits.

Now the biggest differance with the Check style that I see is that the chain that includes your neck is also used.

Adding the neck in there showed me that the link and chain weren't strong.

When i use to do the swiss ball curl-up I progressed to doing sets with weights I could hardly lift with my hands.

Adding the neck, and with out weights, I teried(neck did) in about 10 reps.

This shows that the chain wasn't balanced and my neck wasn't that strong.

Check style involves the head back and curling it up as you sit up. You never want to push the head forward (never put hands behind head). So you put your fingers in the hollow by your ear to serve as an axis point of rotation.

Not forgetting the very importand tongue lock (tongue on top of mouth-swallow and where it goes is where you put it) you rotate your head with the sit up.

The point that your neck tires is when you stop..so you're bring the chain into balance which will make you stronger.

So tongue lock, TA activated and rotate head up with the sit up. Start well extended and don't come too much past center....

I'm starting to do this one. So there is an example of an exercise that a large focus is on the showy 6 pak while linking and making it functional without bulging.

But it also gives an indicator about balance and chains.

I think hanging stuff is good but I think your body needs to work properly first and I don't think its something to start with. Though it worked well for me.. There are lots of variations with the hanging..

T-Check is really impressing me. My training partner is training with a CHECK practitioner and I hope to start with him as well soon.

Check is who made me look at Metabolic Typing. Is the book you have "How to Eat, Move, and Be healthy"? That book is really impressing me.

I plan to do some courses though The CHECK Institute too.