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Technique tips

Keep the following tips in mind as you perform the basic crunch:

Keep your abdominals pulled in so you feel more tension in your abs

and so you don’t overarch your lower back.

Don’t pull on your neck with your hands or draw your elbows in.

Do curl as well as lift.In other words, don’t yank your head, neck, and

shoulder blades off the floor; you also need to curl forward, as if you’re

doubling over. Think of bringing your ribs to your pelvis and exhale as

you crunch up; inhale as you lower back down, keeping your belly

button drawn in.

Perform crunches very slowly and with control, doing 12 reps.

Gym alternative: Ball crunch

Sit on a physioball and roll your torso down so that your back — from your

shoulder blades down to your tailbone — is resting on the curve of the ball

and your head, neck, and shoulders are above the ball. Your knees are bent,

and your feet are planted on the floor, hip-width apart. (See Figure 14-18.)

Perform the same abdominal curling movement as you do for the basic

crunch. You have to move slowly and keep your abdominal muscles fully

engaged to keep yourself from wiggling around on the ball or rolling off of it.

Photograph by Sunstreak Productions, Inc.

Figure 14-18:

You can

perform the

basic-

crunch

movement

on a

physioball

as an

alternative

to the

traditional

exercise.

234 Part IV: Lift and Curl: Building a Stronger Bod with Weights