Start/Finish
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Midpoint
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Training Tip: To increase the range of motion and to get even more ab work,
try putting a rolled-up towel under your lower back.
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Start Position
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet resting flat on the floor.
Your neck and head should be relaxed with your hands at the sides of your head.
The Movement
Using your upper abs, curl your upper torso so your shoulder blades lift off the
floor. As you curl up using your abs, your sternum (chest bone) should be aimed
toward your bellybutton. At the top, contract the abs intensely and then slowly
lower your torso, lightly touching your shoulder blades to the floor. Repeat.
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This is an excellent exercise for practicing and perfecting your techniques for
ab training.
Be clear, the ab crunch is not a "sit-up." Sit-ups are not a recommended exercise
for abs—they're one of the most common causes of lower back injury when training
abs, and they're not even very effective for developing your abs anyway.
The weakness of the ab crunch is its limited range of motion. For the more advanced individual,
ab crunches on the Swiss ball are more challenging as they allow for a much
deeper stretch and greater contraction.
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Try taking one of your hands away from your head for a couple of reps and
placing it on your abs, just below your rib cage, to focus the muscle
contraction.
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To maximize the contraction, take a full breath at the bottom of the rep and
hold that air in as you contract up, focusing on fully contracting your abs.
When you reach the top, squeeze your abs, contracting them for a count of two.
Then release, breathing out, and return to the starting position under control
as you breathe in.
Cautions
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Keep your lower back flat on the ground. Do not lift your lower back off the
ground and actually sit up. This uses more hip flexors than abdominals.
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Keep your chin tucked to your chest and your eyes on your navel to avoid
"jerking" your head up.
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Keep your head still. Do not lift your head off the floor with your neck.
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Do not bounce off the floor
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