If there’s one exercise I can’t stand, it’s reverse crunches—sure, I know it is Go to J-Lo Upon sculpting her coveted six-pack, I just can’t get enough of them, and despite my best efforts, they don’t get any easier. However, like every good fitness editor, I put my personal feelings aside and took a deep dive into the week-long workout, trying to learn more about the benefits of this intimidating move. Are reverse crunches the secret to a stronger core? Read on to find out.
Reverse crunch is included in many files The best ab exercises For good reason — it gives you a lot of bang for your buck. The abdominal muscles are made up of three main muscle groups – the rectus abdominis, the abdominal muscles that run down the front of the stomach, and are the ones featured in the “six-pack”. The transversus abdominis, which is the deepest abdominal muscle, and the obliques that run along the side of the torso. Unlike traditional crunches, reverse crunches target the rectus abdominis and transversus abdominis muscles.
Of course, strong abs are much more than just an aesthetic goal—they can help you run faster, lift heavier weights in the gym, sit in better posture, and protect your spine from injury. As a reminder, what works for me may not be right for you and your body, and if you’re new to exercising, or you’re getting back into exercise after an injury, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor, or a personal trainer, before starting a new routine.
How to do a reverse crunch
To perform the reverse crunch, start by lying on your back with your lower back, head, and neck pressed into the floor. Bend your legs at the knee, press your feet into the mat, engage your core, and think of sucking your belly button into your spine.
Keeping your knees bent, inhale, and lift your legs, hips, and bottom off the mat. Pause at the top of the movement, using your core to keep your hips off the mat. Your head and neck should remain imprinted on the mat. As you exhale, lower your hips back to the mat. That’s one rep.
Here more about How to do a reverse crunch, benefits, and modifications to try.
I Did Reverse Abs Every Day For A Week – Here’s What Happened
Johari worked hard
Reverse crunches are a mid-level AB exercise, and after my first day of doing 100 repetitions of the movement, I could see why. When doing reverse crunches, it’s important that the movement comes from your core, and that you don’t use momentum to move your hips off the mat. I found that when I got tired, I was guilty of this, so I divided the movement into five sets of 20 reps, with a minute rest in between to reset.
Speaking to a personal trainer beforehand, she advised me to only lift the hips and buttocks as far as I can with control—you shouldn’t aim to take your entire lower back off the mat. I suggested if you struggle to lift your hips at all, start with toe lunges to work on your core strength.
I tried (and failed) to mix things up
After a few days of standard reverse crunches, I decided to follow in J-Lo’s footsteps and add a twist to the top of the move to really work my curves. This really worked really hard, and I came back for more the next day, adding a Pilates ball to the mix, squeezing the ball between my knees at the top of each workout.
On the last day of this challenge, I tried and failed to straighten my legs during reverse crunches. It could be that my hamstrings are too tight from marathon training, or I just wasn’t ready to skip to this more advanced variation, but I only managed 30 reps before switching back to the bent-over version.
A personal trainer told me to think about my form
As mentioned earlier, I asked a friend to take a look at my form during this challenge, and she said I tend to use momentum to roll my hips up and down on the mat. She told me that by slowing down, I would increase my time under tension—this refers to the time a muscle spends under stress or tension during an exercise. If you want to gain more muscle, time under tension is important.
I hate them a little less
Of course, a week is not long enough to see any physical changes in the body. If you’re hoping to build visible abs, you’ll need to think about your body-fat percentage, not doing endless crunches—here’s it. How do you calculate body fat percentage and why does it matter. However, after nearly 700 reps (I admit I gave up early on day 5), I’ve learned to like this move a little more than I did a week ago—when I’m done with proper form, they really work the core. I’m relieved that I don’t have to do 100 tomorrow morning.
Looking for more weird and wonderful workout inspiration? Here’s what happened when fitness writer Sam did it 80 spreads each day for a weekIn addition to Forget Russian twists because these five exercises work your core just as hard.
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