What's the proper way to do crunches?!
Question: I do crunches every other day, but I don't feel anything in my stomach when doing them - only my back. But when I do leg-lunges or squats, I feel like a burning, like I should. Never while doing crunches do I feel this. I'm in pretty good shape, but bikini season is just right around the corner, so I'm trying to get in even better shape. What am I doing wrong? And what can I do to improve my abs?
Any help appreciated. Thanks.
Answers: I do crunches every other day, but I don't feel anything in my stomach when doing them - only my back. But when I do leg-lunges or squats, I feel like a burning, like I should. Never while doing crunches do I feel this. I'm in pretty good shape, but bikini season is just right around the corner, so I'm trying to get in even better shape. What am I doing wrong? And what can I do to improve my abs?
Any help appreciated. Thanks.
Crunches should be a secondary exercise, not the primary exercise you do for your abs.
You need to strengthen your core muscle (transverse abdominis) which is the muscle deep to your abs and around your mid section.
This muscle directly supports you back and keeps your mid section tight and slim.
The burning you feel while you are doing squats, etc, is your hip flexors. It sounds like you have tight hip flexors and NEED TO STRETCH THEM. The hip flexors are the muscles that raise your knee when you are standing. They can also compensate for the abdominals to flex your trunk.
I won't even try to explain the entire mechanism, I don't want to bore you.
Core exercises are the plank, side plank, and many many more. Start with the plank. Draw in your core while you do crunches, and above all STRETCH your Hip flexors.
Good luck!
You want to pull your head and shoulders up off the ground with your stomach muscles. Suck in your stomach, like you want your belly button to touch the ground through you. You have to focus on using your stomach. Don't pull on your neck or head. I look almost straight up to the ceiling so I know I am not pulling.
Lie down flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor.
Hold your hands wherever you feel comfortable (on your chest or beside your head - just be sure you don't pull on your head).
The typical crunch is taught by instructing you to simply roll your upper torso forward. This is fine to start with.
To increase the effectiveness of the crunch movement, push your chest and head up towards the ceiling pushing your lower back flat onto the floor.
Your anatomy will automatically cause you to follow a crunching pattern.
Trying to crunch up towards the ceiling will increase the tension on the abs.
Hold at the top of the movement for a second and squeeze hard.
Do not lift up into a sit-up as this works the hip flexors and can strain your back.