How to do a Crunch
- Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Rest your hands lightly behind your head or across your chest.
- Brace your abs and curl your shoulder blades up off the floor.
- Keep your chin off your chest and avoid pulling on your neck.
- Lower slowly to the start without fully relaxing your abs.
Keep in mind
- Curl the shoulder blades off the floor, and no higher.
- Keep a space the size of a fist between your chin and your chest.
- Let the lower back stay down on the floor throughout.
- Lower under control instead of dropping back.
Common mistakes
- Pulling on the neck with the hands — rest the fingers lightly behind the ears.
- Sitting all the way up, which turns it into a sit-up — keep the range small.
- Bouncing off the floor between reps — pause briefly at the bottom.
Breathing
Breathe out as you curl up, in as you lower.
Take care
If you feel it in your neck, support your head with one hand and lift a little less.
Easier and harder
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