Just because a lot of people are still doing crunches doesn’t necessarily mean you should do them too. This staple ab-training exercise has been passed from gym to gym for decades, with many performing millions of reps in hopes of sculpting a ripped six-pack. But all that effort will likely fall short. Abdominal crunches are not a good exercise.
Now that we know more, no matter how many reps you think you can do, the path to a good six pack isn’t with this overrated exercise, according to Men’s Health director of fitness Ebenezer Samuel and Mathew Forzaglia, NFPT, founder of Force Fitness.
“The tummy tuck just isn’t worth it,” says Samuel. “The truth is that fitness moved away from the abs a long time ago because it’s not really a good way to exercise them.”
Why you shouldn’t do crunches
Here are three reasons why you should stop wasting time and reps on abdominal crunches.
These sit-ups can strain your neck
No matter how disciplined you think you are doing your crunches, most people do the movement with their neck. This is putting more stress on your neck flexors than your core is actually exerting, and forcing your neck to bear most of the load isn’t ideal at all, especially when the goal is to compromise your abdominal strength.
Crunches are not effective for spinal flexion
A strong core relies on excellent spinal flexion throughout the spine, from the thoracic to the lumbar region. Getting the abdominals to penetrate the spine at full flexion is essential to building abdominal strength. Yet once more, all the work your neck does during your sit-up session takes away from any real spinal flexion. So, once more, what is the point of performing them?
Crunches are too easy
You’ll never really challenge yourself with crunches until you start doing a ton of reps, and that’s just ineffective. An ideal target range should be in the 10-15 rep range, which should propel your abs enough to start building the strength you’ve been working for.
“If you can lay down there and do 1,000 sit-ups and you’re going to tell me you did 1,000 sit-ups, I’ll tell you you probably don’t have a six pack,” says Samuel. (The best abdominal crunch routine to burn more fat).
3 alternatives to crunches to train your six pack
1- Hanging leg raise (or knee raise)
3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Focus on bringing your glutes forward during the contraction phase of this hanging movement and you’ll almost always get solid ab compression rep following rep, no matter which leg lift option you prefer. The positioning of this movement allows you to reinforce your core, which really allows you to work that six pack.
2- Hollow holds
3 sets of 30 second holds
Hollow holds shift the focus to isometric contractions, forcing you to hold down your desired spinal flexion without engaging your neck. Instead, the position reinforces tight central control. “Imagine taking the hardest part of a well-done sit-up and just holding it for 30 seconds or 45 seconds,” says Samuel.
3- V-Up
If you really want to challenge your core in a way that crunches can’t, you should try the V-up. Think hollow grips with even more spinal flexion and you get the V-up. This exercise is all regarding reaching and creating a spinal flexion as we bring our hands and feet up at the top of the movement, then lower back down to that starting position. “What I love regarding the V-up is that, like the hanging leg raise, we’re taking one aspect of that lower abdominal work and then [con] the hollow hold and we’re taking that spinal flexion of the upper abdominal work and we’re creating a more dynamic movement that brings them together,” says Forzaglia. (The 20 best exercises to train your obliques).
