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Core · Bodyweight
Abdominal Crunch
How to do the Abdominal Crunch with good form: step-by-step technique, the muscles it works (abs), coaching cues and the mistakes to avoid.
Muscles worked
- Primary
- Abs
How to do it
- Lie flat on your back on the floor, bending your knees to roughly 90 degrees with your feet planted flat on the ground hip-width apart.
- Place your fingertips lightly behind your ears or cross your arms over your chest without pulling on your neck.
- Take an inhale, then exhale as you contract your abdominals to curl your head, neck, and shoulder blades off the floor.
- Focus on curling your ribcage down toward your pelvis rather than sitting all the way up.
- Hold the peak contraction at the top for one second, feeling your abs crunch tightly.
- Lower your upper torso slowly back down to the floor, stopping just before your head fully rests to keep constant tension.
Coaching cues
- Lift shoulder blades off the floor
- Ribcage pulls down toward the hips
- Do not pull on your neck with your hands
Common mistakes
- Pulling aggressively on the neck and head with the hands, causing cervical strain
- Performing a full sit-up instead of a partial crunch, shifting work to the hip flexors
- Using momentum to bounce up and down
Equipment and setup
Bodyweight
Lying supine on the floor with knees bent.
Also known as: Floor Crunch, Crunch
Track your Abdominal Crunch in ROAN
ROAN fills in last session’s weight and reps, estimates your 1RM and keeps your best sets.
