Crunch
- Muscle group
- Abdomen
- Primary muscles
- Abs
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your hands behind your head or across your chest.
- Press your lower back into the floor and contract your abs to lift your shoulder blades off the ground.
- Squeeze at the top, then slowly lower your shoulders back to the floor.
Tips
- Keep your lower back pressed into the floor throughout the movement so that the motion comes from curling your ribcage toward your pelvis, not from lifting your entire torso.
- Exhale as you lift your shoulder blades off the floor and pause briefly at the top to let your abs fully contract before lowering.
- Lower your shoulders back to the floor with control rather than dropping them, so each repetition begins from the same starting position.
Common mistakes
- Pulling the head forward with the hands causes the neck to flex sharply and the chin to drop toward the chest, taking the movement away from the abs.
- Lifting the lower back off the floor turns the crunch into a sit-up-like movement and removes the short, controlled range of motion that the exercise is built around.
Make Every Set Count.
Plan your workouts, track every session, and see your progress over time.
