Crunch

How to perform the Crunch

1. Lie back (or kneel under a cable, for a cable crunch) with the lower spine flat against the floor or the hips fully flexed.
2. Place the hands lightly behind the head or across the chest without pulling on the neck.
3. Curl the upper body toward the pelvis by contracting the abs — think "shorten the distance between ribs and hips", not "sit up".
4. Stop when the upper back is off the floor (or the ribs are pulled into the hips, for a cable crunch); going further recruits the hip flexors.
5. Lower under control back to the start; do not let the head crash down to bounce out of the rep.

Suggested working range: 15–25 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Common mistakes

• •Pulling on the neck with the hands instead of curling the upper body up with the abs.
• •Treating the movement as a sit-up by lifting the lower back off the floor and pivoting at the hips.
• •Rushing the reps without a real contraction at the top.
• •Going too heavy on a cable crunch and using the lats to pull the rope down rather than the abs to curl the torso.

Variations & alternatives

Swap in a related movement if equipment, recovery, or progression demands it.