Crunch

How to Perform the Crunch

1. Lie on your back on the floor or a mat with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, hip-width apart.
2. Place your fingertips lightly behind your ears or cross your arms over your chest. Do not clasp your hands behind your head.
3. Engage your core by drawing your belly button toward your spine and pressing your lower back into the floor.
4. Exhale and curl your upper back off the floor by contracting your abs, lifting your shoulder blades 3-4 inches off the ground.
5. Hold the top position for one second, squeezing your abs as hard as possible.
6. Slowly lower your shoulders back to the floor under control, but do not fully relax at the bottom. Maintain tension in the abs throughout the set.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Muscles Worked

Benefits

• ✓Simple, equipment-free exercise that can be performed anywhere to build abdominal strength and definition.
• ✓Low impact on the lower back compared to sit-ups, as the lower spine stays in contact with the floor.
• ✓Easily scalable from beginner to advanced by adding resistance or changing the angle.

Pro Tips

• ●Exhale forcefully as you crunch up to maximally contract the abs and draw the ribcage toward the pelvis.
• ●To increase difficulty, hold a weight plate or dumbbell on your chest, or try the exercise on a decline bench.
• ●Focus on quality contractions rather than quantity. Slow, controlled crunches are far more effective than rapid, partial reps.

Recommended Sets & Reps