Crunchless Crunch Exercises

It doesn’t take much effort to find numerous crunch exercises for abs by quickly browsing the internet.   They all make wonderful claims about shaping your core and strengthening your midsection.  The problem is not finding a description of how to do a particular crunch exercise, but in knowing if the crunchie is going to do you any good.  After all, you don’t want to spend the next six weeks working hard at a crunch exercise that is not giving you any benefit.

So what is a good crunch exercise?  Well according to general consent the following exercises are recommended if you want to work on your stomach and build up your six-pack.  Use these basic exercises as a foundation for a workout routine and then build on this as you progress.  Don’t forget to perform a warm up routine before you start so that you don’t tear any muscles or injure yourself.  Always check with a health professional before you start if have any concerns about your overall health.

Crunches without the Crunch
The main target for regular crunches are the muscles at the front of your stomach (rectus abdominus), but they are not very effective at working on the transverse abdominal muscles which lie deeper in the midsection of your body.  In addition regular crunches can put a strain on your back and neck since you are trying to pull your stomach into your spine by lifting your head.  The regular crunch utilises muscles that you do not usually operate and can cause undue strain.

As an alternative try the following.  Lie on your stomach or kneel down, which ever is more comfortable.  Relax your body and breathe deeply.  Now try to squeeze your stomach and push it back towards the spinal column.  Now hold it for about ten seconds.  You can adjust the time period to what ever feels just past easy. 

The aim is to keep the muscles contracted until either you can no longer feel the contraction or you can feel other muscles in your body working harder than your stomach.  When you reach this point gently release your stomach. Vary the length and repetitions of the crunchless crunch as your abs become more developed.

Hip Lift
This is another exercise for the ab muscles that you lie down for.  Once on your back, place your hands at your sides with the palms facing up.  Lift your legs to the vertical position so that they are at right angles to your body.  Your legs should be straight.  Now contract your stomach muscles whilst at the same time you lift your hips off of the ground.  Raise your hips slowly up to a height of a few inches, making sure that your legs are kept straight up. Hold for a few seconds and then gently lower your hips back down.  Repeat the exercise, gradually increasing the time of the lift and the number of repetitions.

Long Arm Crunch
This exercise uses your arms to provide the leverage on your ab muscles.  Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground.  Reach back with your hands and raise your arms above your head so that your arms are straight and your hands lie on the ground.  Now contract your stomach and pull it towards your backbone whilst you slowly lift your arms, head and shoulders off the ground. 

Keeping your arms straight, raise them to about thirty degrees and hold them there for a few seconds.  Then gently lower them to the ground and relax your stomach.  Repeat the exercise for a number of repetitions, making sure that you use you abs to lift your arms and that you do not lead with your arms.

These cunchless crunch exercises form a great basis for developing a solid six pack and a flatter stomach.  If you want to introduce some variation to these crunchies then you could try any Pilates routine to develop your core muscles.  Within a few weeks you should a noticeable difference in your six  pack.

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