Proper Form for an Abdominal Crunch

I wanted to do a blog real quick about proper form on how to do an abdominal crunch. I stopped by a gym yesterday while a fitness class was going on and I was amazed at how terrible the form was on their abdominal crunches. I was also very disappointed that the instructor would only talk about correct form but not go around the room and correct those doing it wrong. 

First you need to understand that the abdominal do not have a range of motion to them like a bicep or a hamstring. The movement that the rectus abdominus provides is the flexion of the spine. However to do a proper crunch you simply do not need to lift your whole torso off the floor for it to be effective. 

To be done properly and more importantly to do so in such a way that it promotes the maximum amount of efficiency to the muscle group you are trying to train. Lets start with the placement of the hands. Now again think efficiency. If you want to get the maximum contraction of the Rectus abdominus, you need to keep as much of the muscle involved as possible. Place your hands behind your head and interlace your fingers so you attempt to keep the hands together during the action of the crunch. 

Now notice that your elbows are back and in line with your ears. Your goal for your arms during the movement is to keep them in the same alignment throughout the motion. Too often people try to pull on their neck in an attempt to think they are getting more out of the move. To behonest this is actually hurting more than it is helping. Think of those fitness balls that everyone bought a few years back, now it is the ball they cut in half. Why are those so effective for doing crunches? Simple it keep your torso in an extended position as you crunch forcing you to have to use your entire abdominal wall to perform the crunch. By keeping your elbows back you are attempting to accomplish this same position. 

Now for the crunch portion of the move, this is simple. Pretend someone very heavy is about to stand on your stomach. What would be your natural instinct? Mine would be to contract my abdominal muscles as hard as I can. Thats it, that is the crunch technique you need to be successful. 

A few other key coaching points on this would be to also try and keep your focus behind you, this will allow you to keep your head back and your neck relaxed. Also as you crunch think about lifting your shoulders and head straight up towards the ceiling, not pulling them forward at all.

If you are having trouble with this being too difficult in the beginning, try keeping your arms in this position and simply contract and relax the abdominal wall without any lifting of the torso at all.