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Ab Crunches

If you're looking for a tried and true way to tone your abs, doing ab crunches has proved to be effective though out the ages. You must learn how to do crunches in the correct form in order for the exercises to have the maximum effect on your core strength. In this article I illustrate basic crunches, reverse crunches, lateral oblique crunches, hanging leg raises, seated leg tucks, and vertical bench crunches. Let's get crunching'!

BASIC CRUNCHES

Basic crunches work your upper abs and is the foundation for your core workout.

How to do a basic crunch:

1. You start the by lying flat on the floor or on top of a bench. Raise your legs in the air with your knees bent or place them on the raised support bench bar.
 2. Place both hands on the back of your neck .
3. Raise your upper body off the floor or bench, making sure that your lower back remains in contact with the floor at all times (this ensures that your abdominal muscles are the primary force in motion) 
4. Lower yourself back slowly to the starting position and repeat.
If you want more resistance in this exercise you can use weights, or use an incline bench that makes you fight gravity as you raise up.

Important Tips:
1. Keep your neck and hands relaxed.
2. Keep breathing! Exhale as you crunch and inhale as you lower.
3. Your movements should be flow in a full range of motion, smoothly, no jerking.

Variations of basic crunches (twisting, stability ball, machine crunches).

REVERSE CRUNCHES

These are a very effective variation of basic crunches that mainly work your lower abs. If you do no other variation, you must do reverse crunches to give your abdominal muscles a complete work out.

How to do a reverse crunch:  

1. Lay flat on your back, put your head on the floor and put your arms behind your neck.
 2. Lift your feet to the air, keeping your knees slightly bent and then crossing your feet at the ankles.
 3. Lift your hips off the floor, keeping your back as straight as possible on the floor, hold at the top position while squeezing your abdominal muscles for more effectiveness, and then lower your hips back to the floor.  
4. Repeat.

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LATERAL OBLIQUE CRUNCHES, AKA SIDE BENDS

Side bends target the oblique muscles that run along both sides of your body from your chest to your hips. Developing these muscles helps rid yourself of love handles. For these ab crunches, you do one side at a time, and you usually use a dumbbell.

How to do a lateral oblique crunch (side bend):  

1. Hold a dumbbell in one of your hands and stand with your feet shoulder width apart.
 2. Keep your hands close to your sides.
 3. Bend at the side opposite to the hand holding the dumbbell, sliding your hands over your body as you do so. You should feel a stretch in the oblique muscles as your hand approaches the knees in the direction of the slide.
 4. Stop at the lowest point you can go and reverse the slide, going to the side of the dumbbell.
 5. After several repetitions, stop, change the hands holding the dumbbells and repeat the exercise sequence.
 

HANGING LEG RAISES

For these ab crunches, you can use a pull-up bar at the gym, or even a tree in your back yard if it's available.

How to do leg raises:

 1. Using an overhand grip with the hangs spread out a little wider than your shoulders, start with your legs pointing down and your toes pointed to the ground.
2. Slowly raise your feet up, bringing your knees to chest level or higher with the toes still pointing down. 
3. Hold at the highest position and squeeze your abs, then lower your feet back to the starting point and repeat.

CABLE CRUNCHES

For this exercise you use a cable pulley machine while kneeling . There are two variations of the cable crunch. One is the kneeling cable crunch, and the second is the standing cable crunch. I will show you how to do it kneeling.

How to do a kneeling cable crunch:

Use a high cable pulley machine.  
1. Arrange your resistance weight on the pulley, and then holding the cable tightly with both hands, kneel below the rope. (use enough resistance so that the pulley has tension at the start of your exercise.
 2. Hold your hands against your head together with the rope.
 3. Crunch down that you bring your elbows down toward your knees. Keep your stomach muscles tight.
4. Slowly lift yourself to starting position and repeat.

SEATED LEG TUCKS

Seated leg tucks are ab crunches effective for both your upper and lower abs.

How to do a seated leg tuck:

1. Sit cross on a bench and hold onto it for support.
2. Raise your legs slightly and bend your knees a little.
3. Bring your legs in for a tight crunch while curling your upper body too.4. Release your legs back out and repeat.

VERTICAL BENCH CRUNCHES

Vertical Bench Crunches are effective ab crunches to build your lower abs. With this crunch you hang from a vertical bench bar at the gym.

How to do a vertical bench crunch:

1. Position yourself on a vertical bench, let your elbows rest on the side bars to support self and hang.
2. Raise your knees up to a crunch and squeeze your abs hard.3. Bring your knees back down and do start again.

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