The Crunch works the muscles of the rectus abdominis, it is a basic movement to implement in any abdominal exercise routine. Let’s see how it is done and some tips.
The Crunch is a basic exercise, it is one of the most classic ways to develop the muscles of the rectus abdominis.
At the same time it is beneficial to complement any weight training and abdominals, and it will even serve us a lot to improve physical condition in general.
A well-trained abdomen limits back pain and possible injuries that we can suffer from lifting.
But one of the most recurrent questions is… Will this exercise help me have a flat stomach? Yes, of course, as long as they do not forget to maintain proper nutrition and perform a good Cardio session. So, let’s see how to perform the exercise correctly.
HOW TO PERFORM CRUNCH CORRECTLY?
- 1Lie on your back and bend your knees at 45°. Keeping your hands on your temple and your eyes fixed on the ceiling.
- 2Breathe a little more than usual and, holding your breath, take your head and shoulders off the floor.
- 3Arriving with the forehead at the tip of the knees would be marking the limit of ascent of the exercise.
- 4Hold this position for one second.
- 5Exhale and support your shoulders and head again.
- 6Relax your body with a slight pause before starting again.
- 7To make the exercise more difficult, you can put a weight on your chest, keep your legs suspended on the floor, or place your feet on a bench or against a wall.
- The effect of contraction rather focuses on the upper abdominals. However, the lower abdominals and hip flexors also contract to ensure stability of the abdomen and pelvis, thus allowing proper movement of the upper body.
TIPS TO CORRECTLY PERFORM THE ABDOMINAL CRUNCH
- Let’s see a series of training tips that will allow you to obtain better results and work more safely when performing both this and other exercises for abdominals:
The speed of execution should be slow and constant.
To achieve a higher level of training they can place a weight disc on the chest or a barbell.
As the postural muscles of the abdominals become stronger, they can be trained with longer sets. But we suggest sets of 12 to 20 repetitions, if you can do more, instead try to make the exercises harder. - Remember to work all the muscles that make up this group, not just those that are visible on the surface!
Avoid placing your hands behind your head, as we often end up pushing it to perform the exercise. This can lead to cervical problems. The easiest way is to keep your hands on your temple or chest.
We must work without blocking the feet and knees apart so as not to limit the activity of the hip flexor, iliac psoas and rectus femoris, and thus avoid tension and pain in the lower back. - Why do you have to lower the trunk completely? Well, for the head and shoulders to touch the ground, with this you get the abdomen and spine to enter a kind of stalemate.
The most important of this exercise is to avoid flexing the torso at the time of ascent. When the spine is flexed, shoulder rotation creates excessive shear and compression forces that can damage the vertebrae and intervertebral discs. - If you’re having trouble maintaining your head and shoulder position, place your fingers behind your head. Avoid putting your hands behind your neck, as it is not recommended, and if you do not pull from there to avoid hurting the cervical vertebrae.
When you lift the trunk, the respiratory blockage that occurs when you exhale slowly after gathering air; This gives more strength and creates intra-abdominal pressure that helps protect the spine.
Conversely, inhalation during ascent tends to limit movement; which also makes you have less strength to perform the Crunch.