Ab Crunches

How To Do Them Right and Get Results

Ab Crunches are THE go-to abdominal exercise. You can walk into any gym at any time of the day and see someone doing some form of crunches.

There is a good reason why they are the default.  When done right, crunches are an excellent exercise for your abdominal muscles.  They do a better job than most other ab exercises at isolating and working the six pack area, or the rectus abdominis. 

There are some common mistakes that people make when doing ab crunches though, that ruin effectiveness of the exercise.  Here are a few that you will see all the time. 

You’ve seen this guy:

• His fingers are locked behind his head.
• He is pulling the back of his head with his arms.
• He is holding his breath.
• His chin is tucked to his chest.
• He looks like he is just rocking back and forth as fast as he can – shooting for 60 crunches in 60 seconds.
• He is focused on speed and not much else.
• And does he have his feet anchored?

He's doing very little for his abs - at least a lot less than he could be doing if he made a few slight modifications.

Crunches are very effective at building abdominal strength and great looking ab muscles.  But to get the benefit, you really have to focus on a few simple things and make sure your technique is right.

The effectiveness of the crunch comes from muscular tension.  Isolate and squeeze the abs and obliques to get the desired results.  In other words, do them slowly and under control.  Hold for a count at the top while you squeeze the abs and continue to breathe. 

Trying to do 60 crunches in 60 seconds is just using momentum to go through the motion.  You’re really not working your abs as well as you could be.

The abdominal crunch is a simple exercise.  Just make sure you are doing them right.  Do a few, paying close attention to your technique, and you will definitely know if you are doing them right.

Technique

• Lie on your back with your legs bent with your feet flat on the floor.  Do not anchor your feet.  That will cause our hip flexors to do all the work. 
• Put your hands alongside your head or on your shoulders with your arms crossed in front of you.
• Contract your abs.  Somebody is about to punch you in the gut.
• Lift your head and shoulders off the mat using only your abs.  Don’t pull your neck.
• Press the small of your back into the floor.
• Keep your head and neck aligned with your spine.  If your chin is tucked to your chest, you will strain your neck and you will take the focus off of your abs.
• Hold for a count and really squeeze the abs at the top. 
• If you are doing these right, 10 to 15 should be enough.
  

Keep In Mind...

• Do not lock your fingers behind your head for two reasons.  First, you will end up trying to pull your neck up which will put a lot of strain on your neck and do nothing for your abs.  Second, if you have tight shoulders, having your arms up like that will limit your range of motion.
• Concentrate on pressing your lower back into the floor.
• When you are holding for a second at the top, make sure you breathe.  Breathing in and out while the muscles are contracted has great benefits.  It’s like an exercise within an exercise.
• A lot of advice says to roll your head and shoulders off of the mat to start your ab crunch.  If you are just starting out, that’s fine.  But make sure you are not tucking your chin to your chest.  If you are a little more advanced, try pressing your face and chest to the ceiling.
• Don’t try to lead with your head.  Always keep in mind your abs are doing the work.
• Take advantage of the negative movement, i.e. the way back down.  Don’t just drop back down to the floor, make the abs work a little more.
  

Modifiers

Side Ab Crunches - Obliques

From the starting position, roll your knees to one side.  Keep your head and chest facing the ceiling.  Lift the head and chest up while focusing on the oblique muscles.  Make sure you squeeze them and hold for a count at the top. 

Do the requisite number of reps and switch sides.  Like I said above, if you are doing these right, 10 to 15 should be enough.

Another way to do side ab crunches is to leave the knees up like regular crunches, but raise your right elbow toward your left knee and vice versa. 

I've found that really isolating my obliques requires concentration.  Try both techniques and see where you are having the most luck making your obliques really feel it.

The Lower Abs

To put more focus on the lower abs, try pressing your heels into the floor during the ab crunch.  That works the same if you want to elevate your feet and put them on a bench. 

Be careful elevating your feet up in the air with no support.  That has a tendency to bring the hip flexors into play.

Exercise Ball Crunch

Doing ab crunches on an exercise ball can enhance the effectiveness of the exercise by further taking the legs out of the equation.  That forces the abs to do more of the work. 

Start by lying on the ball, with your feet flat on the floor and your lower back resting on the ball.  The thing to keep in mind while you are doing the exercise is to keep the ball stationary and stable.  It shouldn't roll.

Long Arm Crunch

When crunches on their own get too easy, try the long arm crunch.  Extend your arms over your head at the starting position.  As you do the movement, keep your arms aligned with your head.  This ads to the load your abs have to lift.