ABDOMINAL
CRUNCH
CORRECT FORM
The abdominal crunch
is the gold-standard for abdominal training, and probably the most
direct way to work the abdominals.
1) Lie on a
flat, stable, hard surface in the position shown. Your hands should
be clasped behind your head in order to cradle and stabilize your
neck.
2) Pull your
head forward with your hands, tucking your chin in. Pull (using
your abdominal muscles) your upper torso off of the floor until
your middle back is maximally flexed. Do not come up any further
than this. Keep your lower back straight and flat on the ground
during the crunch.
| 3)
Hold momentarily and return slowly in the same manner.
4) Inhale
as you return. Exhale as you crunch. |
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MUSCLES USED
SAFETY
CONSIDERATIONS/PRECAUTIONS
Be sure to keep
your lower back flat against the floor to avoid recruiting your spinal
muscles to help with the crunch.
Some people teach that the neck should not be cradled and in fact
should be maintained in a straight position.
Try this: have
someone slump forward with terrible posture. Next have that person
perform a crunch while keeping the neck straight (looking up at the
ceiling and not cradling it as shown above). Turn YOUR head to the
side and look at the person. It is the same slumped over posture,
only lying on the ground, where the neck has to strain even harder
against gravity because of its position.
The point is that keeping your neck and head straight only increases
the strain on your spine. Protect your neck by cradling it.
Be sure to watch
for lower back pain when doing this exercise. Lower back pain can
occur when the lower back muscles (especially the quadratus lumborum
muscle) takes over for a fatigued abdominal muscle grounp. You should
feel all of the tension develop in the abdominals.
EFFECTIVENESS
A crunch is a
crunch and not a sit-up because you are only lifting your body up
as high as your abdominals will allow. At the top of the crunch, your
abdominals are maximally shortened. Going the rest of the way up (as
in a sit-up) will keep the abdominals contracted, but the rest of
the movement will be accomplished using the hip flexors which pull
in reverse to bring you up the rest of the way.
Some other factors
affecting the crunch:
1) Where do
you put your legs? The position of the legs will only make it
easier or harder for you to isolate the abdominals and take your
lower back and hip flexors out of the picture. With your legs
straight out, it is harder to keep your back straight. With your
legs propped up on a bed or table, it will be easier.
2) Where do
you put your arms? The position of the arms will influence how
much torque your abdominals must overcome to pull you up. Less
torque is needed with your arms across your chest. More is needed
with your arms fully overhead. No matter where you put them, protect
your neck by tucking your chin in.
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