Execution technique

Lie on the floor and bend your knees at a right angle. Feet rest on the floor. Put your hands behind your head and
focus on the ceiling.
Take a breath (a little deeper than usual). Hold your breath, tighten your abs and, without lifting your lower back from the floor, raise your head and shoulders as high as possible from the floor. At the top of the exercise, the gaze is directed straight ahead.
Imagine that your torso is a “mat” that needs to be rolled up to your knees, that is, when raising your shoulders, be sure to round your back, and do not lift your entire torso.
At the top, tighten your abs even more and try to hold your body in this position for a few seconds.
Exhale and return to the starting position.
Pause and relax your abs a little before moving on to the next rep.
To load your abs harder, do crunches with your arms straight behind your head, or use additional weights (for example, hold a plate from a barbell on your chest). You can also “play” with your legs: keep your feet on the weight or rest them against the wall.

Recommendations

Holding the breath while lifting the head and shoulders increases intra-abdominal pressure, which helps keep the psoas in constant tension. By exhaling while lifting, you significantly shorten the range of motion and relax the lower back, which can lead to injury.
Lower your shoulders until your head and shoulder blades touch the floor.
Do not turn your shoulders either to the right or to the left during the crunches. Bending the spine under load increases the pressure on the intervertebral discs.
Throughout the exercise, the head and shoulders move as a whole. Do not bend your neck – as you twist, your gaze gradually moves from the ceiling to your knees. Focus all your attention on the work of the abdominal muscles.
Raising your shoulders from the floor, in no case pull your head with your hands to your chest and do not lower your chin – this is extremely dangerous for the cervical spine.

Application

To: Everyone, from beginner to master, as a basic ab workout.

When: On abs days, after lower abs. Before crunches, practice hanging leg (knee) raises or reverse crunches.

How much: 3-4 sets of 10-25 reps.

Sport

The abdominal muscles are involved in almost any movement, as they perform flexion spine and are responsible for keeping it in a stable position. That is why a strong press is of decisive importance in all sports. By doing crunches regularly, you will improve your athletic skills in gymnastics, basketball, golf, diving, boxing, wrestling, football, javelin throwing, and baseball.