Crunches:
Crunches are one of them exercises that almost everyone has performed at some point in their life, although they are not the best option to choose for direct ab training, they can still play a role in mid section control and strengthening your abdominals. We are going to run through 3 variations, two of these will be body weight and require no equipment, the other will be performed on a single cable pulley.
- Body weight crunches:
- Lay on your back, bring your knees up so your whole foot can sit flat on the floor.
- Place your hands on your quads with your back and head relaxed flat on the floor.
- Start by sucking your belly button into the floor, ensuring your lower back stays locked onto the floor throughout the movement.
- Take a deep breath in and reach your hands over the top of your knees, once the hands are over the knees exhale and allow your hands to roll back down your quads into the starting position.
- Reverse crunches:
- Lay on your back with your legs fully extended. Place your hands either side of your body.
- Bring your feet together and lift them off the floor by a couple of inches.
- Suck your belly button into the floor ensuring your lower back stays locked into the floor throughout the movement.
- Take a deep breath in and bring your knees in towards your chest, bring your knees as far in as you can while keeping your lower back and hips locked into the floor.
- Once your knees are as close to your chest as they can get, exhale out and fully extend the legs again to the starting position. Keep them a couple of inches of the floor and try to not et the feet touch the floor throughout the set.