Some thoughts and discussions from me.
Crunchless: My Favorite Alternative Exercise for the Crunch
Hi guys!
Hope you’re having a great week so far. Is it a short week for any of you because of the holiday? I didn’t schedule any clients on Thursday, so I think we’re going to cel-e-brate our country with some friends! 
I’m actually about to go train some early morning clients now, but I wanted to check in with some info on the abs.
I very, very, very rarely ever have my clients do a crunch. Now, I’ll admit that they get way too demonized in the fitness industry, but that’s because of two things:
1) the large amount of reps people do
2) their form
That said, lots and lots of crunches can be bad for the lumbar spine – especially if you already have lower back pain. Crunches actually work more of the hip flexors than they do the abdominals which, in turn pulls anteriorly on the pelvis.Additionally, putting the spine into a forward flexion over and over again puts way to much pressure on the back (posterior) of the spine.
I cringe at the fact that when in high school I had this silly little ritual of aiming to do 200-300 every night before bed, and I’m pretty my influence on this was back when Britney Spears said she did 1,000 per day. *facepalm* 
What can I say? I used to be a BS fanatic! Anyway, my point is that there are far better exercises for your back than doing crunches.
In fact, the only crunch I’ll have them do is one on the stability ball, and that’s only with the hips lifted. Perhaps I’ll showcase that one another day, but today I want to talk about my favorite alternative exercise for the basic crunch –
The Bent Leg Raise!
The bent leg raise, when performed correctly, is a great alternative to the crunch for several reasons:
- the spine stays in a neutral position
- you work the abdominal muscles below the belly button, as well as the entire rectus abdominis by activating the core
- there’s no pulling at the neck or cervical spine
Now – how to do it! There’s actually several ways to incorporate the bent leg raise into your routine. If you’ve never done bent leg raises, start here, with single (alternating) bent leg raises:
How To:
- THE most important part of this exercise is to press your lower back into the mat, and KEEP it there for the duration of the exercise. If at any time throughout the movement your lower back comes off the ground at all, readjust, push it back into the ground, and resume.
- Now that we’ve got that established, the set up is to place your hands at yours sides (not under your hips) and bring your feet off the ground so your hips and abdomen form a 90 degree angle. Don’t bring your knees past your hip line, or else they’re in resting position.
- Knees are at a 90 degree angle, and feet are flexed.
- Hinging at the hips, keep the 90 degree angle in the legs, and bring one leg down until the heel lightly taps the ground.
- Keeping the back pushed into the mat, and your belly button toward your spine, use the abs to draw that leg up, as the opposite heel now reaches toward the ground, careful not to let the knees go past the hip line.
If that’s too easy, you can move on to the next progression – double bent-leg raises!
Double bent leg raises are just like the former, except both heels descend and ascend simultaneously. Again, only perform this one if you can do so without the lower back lifting off of the ground.
And if you’re able to do this variation with perfect form – belly button drawn toward spine, hands at sides, and low back glued to the ground, you can progress to straight legs – first alternating, and then double. If at any time that low back pops up off the ground, regress back to the former variation 
I have a handful of favorite core exercises that provide a foundation for some of the ab work I do with my clients. If you guys are interested, I’d be happy to do more posts like this featuring my favorites! Have a great Tuesday, friends
Do you do ab work? What are some of your favorite ab exercises right now?
Some other core workouts/ab exercises I love:
I despise crunches so I’m all about any alternative!! 🙂
Brittany (Healthy Slice of Life) recently posted…What to Pack in a Pool Bag for a Toddler
I’m not a fan of crunches! I do pilates a few times a week, and that has made a BIG difference. No crunches but lots of core work!
Caroline recently posted…Thankful Thursday (on a Thursday/Friday)
I don’t mind crunches all that much. I am not as much of a fan of reverse crunches or leg raises. To much strain on my back and my spine sticks out so it isn’t all that comfortable. Lately I love doing different plank variations especially with an exercise ball!
Giselle@myhealthyhappyhome recently posted…Toddler Tuesday – Annie’s Organic Mac and Cheese!
I used to be all about the crunches, now it seems I rarely do them. I guess I don’t really feel the need to do them that often because I consistently lift weights and feel like I engage my core when I do so.
Kaitlin @4loveofcarrots recently posted…Power to the Chia
Love these alternatives! I also hate crunches something fierce!
Krysten Siba Bishop (@darwinianfail) recently posted…July #BodyLOVE Summer Challenge
AMEN to no more crunches. It’s my least favorite move. I’d rather do something else that works the core — and that works it better. Thanks for the new exercises!
Lindsay recently posted…today is my six month jobiversary.
I hate crunches too!! My new favorite ab exercise is knees to elbow and I know I’ll get to toes to bar one of these days!
Sarah @ RAD Living recently posted…Heavy Squats and the Mental Game
Oooh, those are tough! Great goal 🙂
I am terrible at working my abs on my own, but I take pilates, barre and yoga classes that all work my core with different functional exercises (and a billion planks) so I just call it good 🙂
Kacy recently posted…Eatin’ & Drinkin’ – Shaw’s Tavern
I try to do abs/core work once a week – I like planks, walking planks and russian twists!
Sam @ Better With Sprinkles recently posted…Rehashing June + A Blogiversary Giveaway!
i always like planks but i’m going to do some of these bent leg raise things…. those are always hard for me which means i probably need to work on them! 🙂
Linz @ Itz Linz recently posted…Surfing in Missouri
Me too! It’s one of those exercises that seems super simple, until you do it – correctly 🙂
I’m not a big fan of crunches either, though I use them on the stability ball in some of my classes. I love plank variations, and a variety of total body core exercises. This one looks good, I’d like to try and incorporate it into some classes and with some clients.
Debbie @ Live from La Quinta recently posted…YMX by Yellowman Review plus an Indoor Cardio Workout
Oh man.. I love these too! and I love good ol’ planks!
Brittany @ Delights and Delectables recently posted…WIAW: Pass the Hot Sauce
well i just heavy male teen and honestly i love these they do so much more for me at home i dont have to deal with wedging my feet under sothing or fiddling to decide whee my arms should be
DEATH TO CRUNCHES