Crunch

Core · core · beginner

Start

Finish

How to do it

Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat, place the fingertips lightly behind the ears, then peel only the shoulder blades off the floor by shortening the distance between ribs and hips.

Muscles worked

Primary: core

Equipment

No equipment

Common mistakes

Pulling on the back of the head with the hands — keep the fingers light enough that you could hold an egg
Coming up so far that the lower back leaves the floor, which turns it into a sit-up
Yanking up fast and flopping down instead of two seconds up, two seconds down

Variations

Arms crossed over the chest
Feet elevated on a bench with the hips at 90 degrees
Pause two seconds at the top of each rep

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