7 Fast & Effective Crunches To Strengthen Your Abs

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e all constantly engage our core, whether sitting down for a long hour desk job, running, walking, or lifting weights. Even the mundane activities like bending to put on shoes, cooking a meal, turning back, getting up from a chair call on your core. Core muscles are stabilizers of the body that promote body strength, body balance, and body stability.

There are many kinds of core exercises out there. One of the most popular core exercises of all time is crunches. Crunches are traditional bodyweight exercises that are a convenient way to workout your ab muscles without the use of any equipment.

Crunches don’t just work your abdominal muscles but work your entire core, which broadly consists of transverse abdominis, the muscles of the pelvic floor, rectus abdominis, external obliques, internal obliques, back muscles, shoulder muscles, hip muscles.

Today, we’re going to take a venture of bodyweight core training.

Perform each of the crunches mentioned below for 15 counts with 30 seconds rest after each set.

Let’s begin…

REGULAR CRUNCHES

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent, back and feet on the floor (your feet should be hip-width apart) and your hands supporting your head behind (make sure not to lace your fingers together).
2. Hold your elbows out to the sides, and lift your shoulders and chest so that your shoulder blades come up off the mat, keeping your lower back pressed into the mat.
3. Your neck should be neutral, while you gently squeeze your abdominal muscles inward.
4. Hold the crunch for 5 seconds and slowly lower back to the starting position.

REVERSE CRUNCHES

1. Lie down flat on your back with your hands beneath your hips.
2. Lift your knees until your thighs and calves form a 90-degree angle.
3. Lift your hips and draw your knees towards your head.
4. Hold the crunch for 5 seconds.
5. Lower your feet back slowly to the starting position to complete one rep.

Also read: 7 Best Resistance Band Exercises For Toning Arms

OBLIQUE V CRUNCHES

1. Lie down on your right side with your right shoulder on the mat, your legs fully extended, and your left hand behind your head.
2. Press down into your right hand, bend at your waist and raise your legs and torso simultaneously.
3. As you lift, try to touch your left knee with your left elbow and squeeze your abs (by bringing your torso towards your legs). Hold the crunch for 5 seconds.
4. Slowly lower both your legs back to the starting position.
5. Switch sides and repeat.

WALL CRUNCHES

1. Lie on your back with your glutes fully against the wall, position your hands at the back of the head and extend your legs up the wall.
2. Lift your torso slowly (keeping your shoulder off the ground and your chin off the chest).
3. Hold the ab crunch for 5 seconds.
4. Lower your torso slowly to return to the starting position.

Also read: 5 Minutes Plank Workout Daily Will Transform Your Body

BICYCLE CRUNCHES

1. Lie on your back with your lower back pressed flat into the floor and your hands held behind your head.
2. Contract your core muscles, lift your shoulder blades off the mat, lift your left leg off the ground, and bring your left knee and the opposing elbow close to each other.
3. When you bring one leg up, you’ll straighten the other leg and keep both the legs elevated and higher than your hips. Hold the crunch for a second.
4. Lower your left leg and right arm at the same time while drawing your right knee towards your left elbow. Repeat the cycling crunches.

FROG CRUNCHES

1. Lie down on a mat with your back flat keeping your hands supporting your head and soles of the feet held together.
2. Lift your shoulders pulling your knees towards your elbows. Lower your torso, and extend your legs to return to the starting position.
3. You should make sure to keep your head in a neutral position and your chin away from the chest.
4. When you perform the crunches, your lower back should be pressed into the mat.
5. Draw your legs back into the frog position to complete one rep.

Also read: 6 Best Whole Body Kettlebell Workout For Women

SPRINTER CRUNCH

1. Lie on your back with your legs fully extended and your arms held bent at your sides.
2. Keeping your core engaged, lift your torso off the floor to a 45-degree angle from the floor.
3. Explosively pull your left knee towards your chest shooting your right arm forward.
4. Slowly stretch your leg to return to the starting position.
5. Repeat the sprinting on the opposite side.

A strong core helps support your back, improves your posture, and allows for stronger functional movements…

Crunches are core stability exercises that help achieve lean chiseled abs by shredding unwanted tummy fat…

Also read: Achieve Flat Tummy & Slim Waist In Just 10 Minutes

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