How To Do Crunches
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If you want to know how to do crunches, here they are, in all their glory. From regular crunches over an easier version for beginners to making this popular ab exercise more difficult.
So You Want To Do Crunches
I’m going to say it again in the video, but let’s make sure we really don’t waste your time on this: Crunches won’t give you a flat stomach and by themselves they also are not enough to give you a six-pack.
Still, they are a very useful exercise, even if you aren’t in the market for washboard abs, as the ab muscles significantly help stabilize your upper body during your daily activities and during exercise. If you have back pain, having strong ab muscles can also help alleviate it, as they take pressure off your back.
How To Do Crunches
The technical side of doing crunches is quite easy. The most important thing you have to remember is to not pull on your head:
How Often To Do Them?
As I mentioned in the video, three times per week for three sets each should suffice and preferably you make this part of a complete workout plan. Once you are able to perform 12 repetitions on all three sets with good form, you can up the difficulty slightly, as explained in the video. A 1 – 2 lb (0.5 – 1 kg) plate should suffice.
Tags: ab crunches, ab exercises, bodybuilding, crunch exercise, crunches, fitness, how to do crunches, six pack abs, video, washboard abs, workout
29 Comments
Don’t have the intention to knock this blog entry, per se, but why are we still telling people to do crunches when they’re a horrible exercise for your back and abs? Reverse crunches are much more effective, don’t shorten the RA from the ribcage, encourage proper hip alignment while engaging the core, and can also be done at home. Lastly, you don’t run into the pulling on the neck problem because your hands are not behind your head.
You have point. However, I consider crunches at least safer than sit-ups and while reverse crunches are more of compound exercise, the regular crunches isolates the abs pretty well.
Reverse crunches ARE a bit harder to teach and learn–many people don’t know how to tilt their pelvis and focus on the abs but if you don’t have them as part of your workout, I suggest you try em out a few times. I can do a good amount of rollouts with good form but the contraction at the top of the R. crunch is a killer!
This may be old news but if anyone is interested, here’s a relatively recent review of crunch safety and efficacy by Bret Contreras – http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/Abstract/2011/08000/To_Crunch_or_Not_to_Crunch__An_Evidence_Based.2.aspx.
Some interesting reading! Thank you, Rani!
I just read the article again, very very thorough. This was a paradigm shifter for me. Highly recommended paper!
Starting workout today.
Taking a picture everyday for 365 days.
Let’s gooo!
I’ve tried to do crunches a lot but they always seem to hurt my back, I am pretty sure I am doing them correctly as I have paid close attention to your guide and others on the internet. Could this be because my back is weak at the moment and I just need to get used to them or is it more likely to be bad form?
It could be bad form. But if you are really sure you are doing them correctly, then I’d suggest and visit your doctor and let him check. There might be something else there.
I think maybe I am over thinking the crunch to ensure I do not make the mistakes which is actually meaning I have bad form. I will keep on trying, but can you recommend any other ab exercises I can do instead that will not be as harsh on the back? Thanks in advance.
You can try lying leg raises. They more emphasize the deeper abdominal muscles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgZ2pV3_FuU
However, some people report them being more uncomfortable for their backs than crunches, so gauge your mileage.
Hi, I would also like to know a good alternative to the crunch as they do not seem to be doing anything following this routine, I do not feel a real burn or aches the next day. This could be down to form, but I’d still like to know a more intense alternative so that I will feel the burn to show me that it is not a waste of time.
Well, you don’t always get sore in the muscles you worked on, even when the workout really was useful.
If you find regular crunches too easy, I suggest to make them a bit more difficult by holding a weight behind the head. The crunch scales very good on the difficulty level.
Hi, should I put weights behind my head so that I can only do 12-15 reps max and do move up on weight that way? And if crunches don’t get you a six pack or flat stomach, what do they do? Are they good for my back because my tailbone (coxic) was injured a while ago and the docter said there is no treatment for that injury, so he said just take it easy on it. So if I cant do crunches are there any other excersizes that would be good for my lower back? Or not bad for my back at least ? Sean 🙂
Crunches make your straight ab muscles bigger, so that when your body fat percentage is low enough, they become nicely visible.
On your tailbone they won’t have any effect, sorry.
so im verry skinny so how many reps should i do in each of the 3 sets? im starting weighted crunches now because they got pretty easy, and is it 2 secs up and 2 secs down? and any advice with weighted sit ups?
If without weights you can do more than 15 on each set, then you are right to make them a bit more difficult with weights. I’d pick one where you can do at least six on each set with good form.
About sit-ups watch this:
http://youtu.be/MRpgGIPOXvU
Thanks for all this, and I’m as skinny as a rake, I have CURVES FOR GOODNESS SAKE! Any advice on how to fill those side gaps up or anything like that??
would doing crunches monday to friday, everyday, be worse than doing them every other day? At the moment I do them every other day and I am not seeing any progress so I was thinking of doing them every day instead. Also, I plan to start doing some form of cardio, is it best to do before or after my crunches?
If by seeing no progress you mean the abs muscles still aren’t visible, you may have fallen for the spot-reduction idea:
https://evilcyber.com/losing-weight/spot-reduction-myth/
This explains all you need to do:
https://evilcyber.com/fitness/how-to-get-six-pack-abs/
no, I don’t expect to see visible results already and I know about the spot reduction myth, I am already quite skinny anyway. My problem is I never seem to feel any aches or anything afterwards although I am sure I have got the form right now, finally. My question is just will it be worse for me building abs to do the ab workout on consecutive days? if so i will just be patient and keep working, maybe adding a few extra sets in on the days that I do abs and maybe do some bicycle crunches too.
The abs are muscles that are often under stress, so they usually don’t get sore that much.
It’s possible that you may not be doing the exercise difficult enough to induce growth. If you can do 3×12 reps with ease, add a bit of weight to your crunches.
If the abs aren’t sore from that, you can go ahead and train them right on the next day.
thanks for your help, I will try and get a weight plate soon.
is it best to do my ab workout before or after my cardio if I am doing both on the same day?
If you want to see the most development in your workouts, do those first. If you want to see them in cardio, do that first.
Hi i am new to this and i want to know if there is a “substitute” for crunches. Thank you and you’re just plain awesome 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
You can try this:
https://evilcyber.com/fitness/the-ab-exercise-you-can-do-while-brushing-your-teeth/
Hi! Small question about crunches:
I am now able to do 12/12/12 with a 25lbs plate, but as far as plates go, the next one is 35lbs. I’d have to ignore the 10% rule, but I can still do 7/7/6. Is that fine? Or would you suggest I use something else?
If you can do them properly that way, that’s ok. If not, go for bicycles – they are a good bit harder already on their own!