Crunch are one of the most popular moves to build a waistline, working the pectoralis major, rectus abdominis, external obliques, internal obliques and transverse abdominis. Doing crunch consistently will sculpt your abdominal curves and strengthen your core.
- Lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent while clasping your hands around your head.
- Keep your elbows out and contract your abdomen, then lift your torso upward and perform a crunch.
- Maintain a smooth motion and return to the initial position. Continue to repeat the movement at a fast but steady pace.
This action seems very simple, but contains a lot of technical details, once ignored, not only reduce the training effect, but also may produce injury. I believe that some trainers will have the following doubts: do a lot of crunch why not much effect? The abdominal muscles have not yet felt the exhaustion, the neck first soreness can not be?
Here are some action points to keep in mind
Abdominal Tuck
Keeping the abdomen tucked in maintains tension in the abdomen so that the lower back doesn’t crunch excessively to compensate.
Don’t lift your neck
Don’t use your hands or let your elbows pull your neck up, as this can cause fatigue in the neck muscles or cervical spine.
Roll and Lift
Roll your abdomen forward as if you were folding your body in half, while also lifting your shoulders and torso. Don’t just lift your head, neck and shoulder blades off the ground.
Keep the movement small
Crunch are a small movement. There’s no need for your head to touch your knees, just lift your upper body a few centimeters off the ground and make sure that the force is completely focused on your abdominals.
Test against the above to see if you usually do it right?
