📋 How to Do?
- Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat, placing hands behind head loosely or arms crossed over chest to avoid pulling.
- Curl shoulders off the ground by contracting abs, exhaling and squeezing at the top for peak flexion.
- Lower slowly back to start, inhaling and controlling to engage eccentrics fully.
- Perform 3 sets of 15-20 reps, maintaining neutral neck throughout.
Drive lift with abs not hands in crunches, keeping chin off chest for neutrality, and avoid if neck issues persist. Breathe out on curl for bracing. Add twists cautiously for obliques.
💪 Working Muscles
Primary: Rectus Abdominis (upper flexion); Secondary: Obliques (assistance); Transverse Abdominis (bracing)
Equipment Needed: None (bodyweight)
Difficulty: Beginner
✨ Benefits
Crunches build ab endurance and simplicity for home core training, progressing to weighted for hypertrophy. They target upper rectus effectively. See 15% upper ab strength boost in 4 weeks.
🔥 Burned Calories
Burns Approx. 40-60 kcal per 10 min at moderate intensity
Metabolic Impact: Low to moderate, isolation flexion
Common Mistakes
- Pulling on the neck with hands, straining cervical muscles and reducing ab focus.
- Performing full sit-ups, which shifts to hip flexors over upper abs.
- Rushing reps without squeeze, minimizing contraction and effectiveness.
