Even if you are not a dedicated gym goer, you have likely done crunches at some point in your life. In this video, I’m going to show you how to never to crunches and the 10 most common mistakes made when performing this popular ab exercise. It’s said, once you know what you are not supposed to do you can learn what you should do a lot easier.
We start off this list of ab workout mistakes with a mindset, a faulty one at that. There is a belief that doing crunches is bad for your back. While I deeply respect the researchers that have dedicated their life to this topic I simply don’t agree with all of the studies that have been intended to validate this claim. Many times, the subjects are not human beings and often times, the extreme cycling of repetitions is applied in an accelerated manner that does not simulate real life applications of crunches or ab workouts. Your spine can regenerate and recover provided it has bouts of relief and decompression. This is not often times occurring in a lab controlled environment.
That is not to say that crunches can’t cause low back pain. They absolutely can. This has to do often times with ab workout mistake number two and that is hooking your feet under something when performing your crunches. This will cause over activation of the hip flexors and can lead to low back tightness and spasm. The key to fixing this however is to hook your feet either over something or not at all.
Pulling on the neck can also cause pains from crunching. If you want to do this properly, gently place your hands behind your head but do not interlace your fingers. From here, keep looking up to the ceiling rather than forward or down towards your toes. Where you gaze is where you body goes so focus up and your crunches and abs will be better off for it.
The fourth big crunch mistake is worrying about how high you lift off the ground every rep. Some will even think that they have to do full sit-ups in order to get benefits for their ab muscles. This isn’t true. In fact, just clearing the shoulder blade off the mat when doing crunches is enough to get full activation of the abs.
Breathing is also a big area of contention for those that do crunches improperly. You want to learn how to breathe out while not distending the abdomen during a well executed crunch. With the contraction of the transverse abdominis you will be able to cinch the belly down while exhaling, which will engage the abs but not lead to a protruding belly in the long run.
When it comes to the reps you perform in your ab workouts and ab exercises, stop counting them. Instead, make every one count. The way to do this is to once again focus on initiating every lift of the torso with the contraction of the abs. Eliminate momentum and lift only with the work of the rectus abdominis. Pumping away with mini reps is not going to win you any awards and certainly isn’t going to get you six pack abs any faster.
The next big mistake is always doing your crunches on your back. Lumbar flexion can be achieved from many other positions. Make sure to include some of the closed chain options that you see in the video to not only mix up your training but to get better abs in the long run.
That said, certain exercises (even when done out of a different position) can still be misperformed. The crunch pulldown is one example. Instead of sitting your butt back onto your heels on every rep, make sure to keep your butt in the same position that you start. Crunch only by flexing the spine and getting your elbows down to the floor.
Side crunches are another variation that you want to make sure you don’t miss. One of the biggest ab workout mistakes is not doing them. They are great for isolating the obliques and getting a solid contraction of these important waist tapering muscles.
Finally, only doing crunches in your ab workouts is not the answer either. Be sure to train the other functions of the ab muscles. Anti-rotation, Anti-flexion, Anti-lateral movements are all things that are the responsibility of the core muscles. Be sure to include them in a complete ab workout.
If you want a day by day ab workout generator that will give you more than just crunches, be sure to head to athleanx.com via the link below. Start training like an athlete and build a ripped, athletic body in just the next 90 days.
For more ab exercise videos and workouts for six pack abs, as well as tutorials on how to do crunches properly be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube via the link below and remember to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.
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44 comments
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We out here!!!! Jeff i appreciate all this info that cannot be stopped lol
4:45 man it’s like your begging for the rope of the face pull to come down to you
Me looking at the title and wondering: Hmm so the most basic exercise ie crunches can be done with 10 mistakes 😜
Love your videos Jeff! I'm definetely at fault of several of these… Time to focus!
I have a friend trying to get me into EMS – Electrical Muscle Stimulation training. I hear a lot of good stuff about it (at least from people earning their money on it), but struggle to find a good objective evaluation of it. I've done some demo classes already, it tires you out like crazy and I've been sore in muscles I didn't even knew I had, but I'm left asking if it is good or bad long-term and in general.
Not sure if this training is getting traction in the States, but it is taking off in Europe, so would love to see your input on it.
Hi Jeff, what’s your thoughts on doing Reformer Pilates 5 times a week instead of doing weights to build/maintain muscle and strength?
having vertebral fusions in my lower back I can't really do laying on the back type crunches anymore. Flipping it over and doing more "movement based" crunches really helps my entire core including the pain in my lower back
💪💪💪💪💪💪
Wow, great advice!! Thank you. Will be making some adjustments going forward. I liked your focus on doing them right, not necessarily doing a LOT. 🙂
Thanks Jeff 👍
Great work 💪💪 thanks bro
Every video you make is great!
I always love how in depth you go, I certainly enjoyed this. One piece of feedback I have is that, at the end of these "mistakes to avoid" videos, I'd love to see you do the exercise yourself and point out all the right things that you're doing. Sometimes it's a bit much to remember 10 mistakes, it would help me a lot if you ended these types of videos with the correct form and explaining, point by point, why it's the correct form. Thanks for putting this out so frequently, it's helped me immensely.
OMG, EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED
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#まさかのカメラ切り忘れでやら1かしたのもドキドキでした #垃圾W#再編ありがとうです!#いたもん(#笑)在整個人類歷史上,強者,富人和具有狡猾特質的人捕食部落,氏族,城鎮,城市和鄉村中的弱者,無'守和貧窮成員。然而,人類的生存意願迫使那sfdsd些被拒絕,被剝奪或摧毀的基本需求的人們找到了一種生活方式,並繼續將其DNA融入不斷發展的人類社會。. 說到食物,不要以為那些被拒絕的人只吃垃圾。相反,他們學會了在被忽視的肉類和蔬菜中尋找營養。他們學會了清潔,切塊,調味和慢燉慢燉的野菜和肉類,在食品`.
I do side crunches with a pulley cable weight setup like he showed with the rope……you can see my obliques, shredded!
and to his ending…I do none of the mistakes, I'm a core whore!
Does anybody know if norateen heavyweight 2 supplement is any good
At 5:30 Jeff started breakdancing
I heard Jeff opens a door with both hands to avoid muscle imbalance
I have been doing your ab “six pack promise “ daily workout and it works great 👍 THX 🙏🏻
I feel your videos are daunting because of the negative titles. I always skip or block them because of the negativity.
The contents are usually informative even though they feel like click bait.
I imagine Jeff's closet consists of zero shirts and about 15 pairs of Adidas soccer pants
I've made that mistake before. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks
فين العرب اللى هنا 💪
Hip flexor crunch guilty. Im not the only one. Flatten the abs into an iso hold I'm learning that currently. Also saw the banded curl video.. thinking about that one too.
1:28 Jeff giving Eminem competition
Υou're simply the best, fuck all the rest..
Do you have an option to just buy an ab workout program?
The tummy pudge is discouraging. Thanks for the love of the gym. May Jesus be with you Jeff AMEN
LET’S GO BRANDON!!!!!!
Great content Jeff ty
I’m 47 and have put a maniacal focus on health over the last year and have dropped 80 pounds as a result of good nutrition and a daily cardio routine. I’m now 5 9” and weigh 155 lbs. I’ve started substituting cardio for strength training because I’m in serious need of muscle. One thing that has been dogging me is that I still carry substantial belly fat (though I have a strong core and a hidden six pack). Any suggestions for a guy like me that needs to probably lose 10 pounds of belly fat but who is already at their target weight weight? My hope is that my strength training will turn that belly fat into muscle but I’m worried that my dramatic weight loss means I’ll always have a gut due to all the loose skin. I continue to maintain a calorie deficit … is that the right move? Any suggestions welcome.
I really like "if you keep doing the same thing, you're going to get what you always got". Motivating 🙂 thanks.
Thought of starting another channel called 'never do….this'😂😂😂
Is it normal to not be able to go very far down to the ground during a squat? I can do squats with no pain and good form no curve of the spine or “wink” and I can feel it! But, I can’t go as low as some other people I see in the gym. I am pretty tall (5’11) and have a slim stature.
Question. Im currently doing a five minute plank every time i try it, it's really starting to feel easy, should i try to hold longer or the length of time is enough and i should add weight to my back? In two months i progressed from 1 minute plank to a 5 minute one so im curious what is optimal for my abs.
Today I’m going for the first time.
How many of those mistakes have I done?
Probably all of them
This is quality content.
Thank you for your thorough explanation. I learned a lot from the video. I'll try to change my breathing. I didn't know there is so much excercises just for abs and core. I'll incorporate some to my next training.
4:45 when she gives u dat slurp slurp glurk glork 9000
When I was a kid before my disability kicked in I used to do this exercise a lot
Thank you for the video.