Crunches is an universal abs builder, that has no other exercise to compare with. If you need to build your abdominal muscles and emphasizes upper abs, crunches must be you number one choice. This exercise is a basic one which develops strength and strengthens the muscles of the upper press and can be done in any circumstances by any person. It has developed number of variations for varying the training by changing the place of crunching – floor, fit ball, in the air – or angle of movement. The standard floor crunch remains the leader among those variation as the most simple in its technique and impressive in its results.

Abs Crunches Performing:

The staring position for abs crunches is lying on the floor, knees bent, feet at the floor, hands behind the head, gaze on the ceiling. Make sure that your waist is on the floor and not moving during the actions, otherwise the load will move from the upper abs to the back.

When you’re ready, take a breath and truck forward, never taking your waist from the floor, head lifted and shoulders as high as possible. The best top point if crunches will be then your eyes look strictly forward. At the top of the movement exhale and strain your press, trying to keep the body in this position for several seconds. Then return to the starting position. You can take a break and relax press a little press before starting the next repetition, if you need to.

Breathing during the lifting increases abdominal pressure, which helps to keep the lumbar muscles in a constant voltage. But do not exhale during the ascent, because that will significantly shorten the amplitude of movement and relaxes the lower back, which can lead to injury. You also need to keep the shoulders up as

The key point in crunches is the head and shoulders move as a whole throughout the exercise. Raising your shoulders off the floor, do not pull the head with your hands to the chest and do not lower the chin – this is extremely dangerous for the cervical spine.

While performed regularly, abs crunches become easy and can be done in countless number of reps. If you want to load the press more, you can use the additional weight on the chest or try to your feet in the air while crunching. The result won’t take long to be seen!

Written by: Dennis Borisoff
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