Start/Finish
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Midpoint
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Training Tip: For variation, I'll often take one hand off the side of my head, place it on
the oblique muscle on the opposite side of my body, and perform a twisting ab crunch. For example,
aiming my right elbow towards my left knee. This helps develop the muscles in both Regions 1 and 3
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Start Position
Simply lie on the floor with your feet positioned atop a bench (or chair). Your
knees should be bent at a 90-degree angle. Place your hands gently on the sides
of your head and take a deep breath.
The Movement
Then, concentrate on flexing the upper abdominal muscles, pushing your lower
back into the floor, and slowly curl your shoulders toward your knees as you
breathe out. Aim your elbows toward your knees, flexing the ab muscles more with
each inch your elbows move upward and inward.
When your shoulders and upper back have curled up
off the floor and your elbows are six to eight inches from your knees, hold that
position for a count of "one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two" and flex those
abs while pushing down with your lower back! Then, slowly return to the
starting position while you breathe in. Pause for a moment, and then repeat.
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This variation of the basic ab crunch is one I've made a part of my regular
training routine for years. By simply placing your feet on a bench, it puts more
emphasis on the upper abs and takes pressure off the lower back. It also helps
keep the hip flexors from being activated.
It's very important to just rest your feet on top of the bench and not put them
under the bench and use them for leverage to try
to help you "sit up." That old-fashioned technique has caused a lot of
unnecessary strain in people's lower backs. Please note that the crunch is not
the same as that old-fashioned sit-up you might have done in Junior High PE
class. The crunch is a much more focused, safer, and effective way to exercise
the abdominal muscles. Please, if you're doing sit-ups now, stop, and don't let
anyone ever tell you they're an effective ab exercise—they're outdated and not
the right way to train.
The bench crunch, on the other hand, is one of the best exercises
for stimulating the abdominal muscles and developing that six pack.
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For variation, I'll often take one hand off the side of my head, place it on the
oblique muscle on the opposite side of my body, and perform a twisting ab
crunch. For example, aiming my right elbow toward my left knee. This helps
develop the muscles in Region 3 as well as Region 1.
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