Crunches Benefits, how to do abdominal exercises, mistakes - teenflixsports

Crunches Benefits,💪 how to do abdominal exercises, mistakes🏆🥇

Abdominal crunches are one of the most popular exercises to work the abdomen. However, as with other fitness workouts , it's common for you not to know how to crunch correctly. Make sure that you avoid the most common mistakes like making explosive movements, lifting the lower back or pulling the neck. Ten slow crunches with the right technique are worth more than 100 poorly executed crunches. We will explain what this abdominal exercise consists of and how to perform crunches correctly.

In addition, in this article you will discover which abdominals are worked on in an exercise routine with abdominal crunches . Among them, the rectus abdominis, which goes from the pubic bone to the rib cage. You will also exercise, although to a lesser extent, the oblique muscles, which are located on the sides of the stomach. Learn how to get your six pack!

Contents

• What is the Crunch?
• How do you do the Crunch exercise?
• What muscle does the abdominal crunch work?
• Pros and cons of crunches
• Types of crunches and variants

What is the Crunch?

Crunches are a type of exercise that works the rectus abdominis muscle, and that can be done in various ways. In general terms, it consists of contracting the abdominal wall. To do it, you have to lie on the floor and raise your upper body very little, squeezing your abs and going towards your legs, but without going all the way up.

There are two ways to crunch : static and dynamic. In the first case, the static form , you have to maintain abdominal tension for a specific time; The second form, the dynamic , raises and lowers the upper body for a set number of repetitions.

But as with many other fitness practices, it is common to make execution mistakes during crunches , especially if you are doing exercises at home and you do not have the help of a trainer to correct any inappropriate posture or movement that could end in injury. .

In addition to the risk of injury, the importance of doing this exercise for the  abdomen correctly, lies in the effects it may have on that area of ​​the body, for them to be the desired ones, it is necessary that you acquire the correct position, so that your muscles work in a proper and efficient way.

How do you do the Crunch exercise?

Although it is a short movement, it is very important that your posture is correct when executing a crunch , since a very common mistake is to put tension on the neck when lifting your back off the ground. To correctly execute these abdominal exercises we give you these tips:

There are two ways to crunch : static and dynamic. In static , you have to maintain abdominal tension for a specific time; the dynamic form , on the other hand, consists of raising and lowering the upper part of the body following a specific number of repetitions.

First of all, to do a crunch  correctly. You must place the mat on the floor and lie on your back. Next, flex your legs and try to keep your feet and back flat on the ground. Place the hands under the neck allowing the elbows to open.

From this position, begin the movement by flexing your trunk, slightly raising your head and shoulders off the ground (as if you were trying to bring your ribs closer to your knees). Finally, if you are doing the exercise correctly you should feel pressure in the abdominal area . If you feel it you will have completed a successful crunch !

What muscle does the abdominal crunch work?

With this exercise, you especially work the rectus abdominis , but the deep muscles and obliques are also fully used.

Rectus abdominis muscle or rectus abdominis muscle

This muscle is important for posture, as well as being responsible for the visual aspect. In the crunch exercise , this muscle allows you to lift your chest toward your legs and therefore flex your trunk.

piriformis muscle or piriformis muscle

It consists of a triangular-shaped skeletal muscle that is part of the deep, anterior, and middle abdominals . Strengthens the link between abdominals and pelvic floor.

Secondary muscles that we work

External oblique muscle and internal oblique muscle of the abdomen: The oblique muscles are responsible for the rotation of the upper body and by working them, you can achieve a lean figure with abs of iron. When you do abdominal exercises or crunches , they are partially involved.

Pros and cons of crunches

However, although the first exercise that comes to mind is abdominal crunches , we will mention why it is outdated and you should not practice it.

If you do crunches right , they can be harmless and useful. Because doing crunches in a safe and positive way requires a lot of body awareness and anatomical understanding, abdominal crunch can cause serious problems.

The problem with the Crunch is that it curves the spine excessively, which can cause lower back pain, and of course, if we come home from the office to maintain a good posture, this exercise is not the best to achieve it.

Also, you can have a bad posture. Since your whole body is exercising; Abdominals result in flattened spinal curves which mainly lead to postures like: shoulders down, head forward, and start to work very slowly into that hunched "old man's back" that nobody wants. Crunches reinforce bad habits that result in poor posture.

Types of crunches and variants

Alternate your sessions with our four crunch variations . To add more intensity or variety, you can also use dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, or other accessories.

Crunches with alternating heel touches

Heel strikes are a very simple exercise to work the abs and focus on the obliques.

Toe-to-heel touches target the obliques , which are the muscles that run parallel from just below the ribcage to the pubic area. This pair of muscles is made up of the external and internal obliques.

To execute this abdominal exercise correctly you must follow the following steps:

• First, lie down on the floor with your knees bent and feet on the floor about 50-80cm apart.
• Second, perform a forward and upward torso curl 3 to 4 inches to the right side and touch your right heel as you hold the contraction for a second.

Then very slowly return to the starting position as you inhale. Lastly, flex your torso forward and up about 3 to 4 inches on the left side and touch your left heel as you hold the contraction for a second. Breathe out as you move, then return to the starting position as you inhale.

Breathing

As the muscles contract over and over again, it is difficult to breathe easily. And that is why we want to give you a series of tips:

Although toning the abs and erasing the love handles is the number one reason people go to the gym, they often overlook the oblique muscles in their process of achieving a flatter and attractive stomach. People with weak obliques tend to have poor posture as there is a lack of support on their rectus abdominis .

Contract your abs and gently lift your head and upper back off the floor, as you do with an abdominal crunch . Turn your body part to the right to touch your right ankle or foot with your fingers, then repeat the movement on the left side.

Twist crunches

The twisting crunch works the obliques, which are quite relevant to stabilizing the back in sports physiotherapy.

Once you master the abdominal crunches and each of their versions, proceed to perform them with a twist, that is, crunches with a twist , to strengthen the oblique muscles, larger and smaller. In this way you can gain more strength and security for your back.

To do a crunch with a turn you must keep the borders of the abdominal crunch , remembering that the neck is relaxed, the arms with the hands crossed behind the head, those that support it and not the neck. Starting from this position, you inhale and when exhaling you bring the right elbow to the left knee, the knee does not move, it is the elbow that seeks the knee. Then you exhale, and this time turning the left elbow to the right knee, without moving it and keeping your back together.

The duration of the twist crunch will be 2 seconds in the inspiratory stage, and 2 seconds in the expiratory stage, and you should do a total of 10 repetitions on each side for each series.

Cautions and Variations:

Pay particular attention to your neck, so that it does not pull you, nor does your back bother you. In case this happens, you have the possibility to modify the exercise and do a variant of the twist crunches .

First of all, you must raise your head upwards by action of the arms and the right side, where you will notice the work of the abdominal exercise . With the borders of the previous exercise, you will do 3 series of 10 to 30 repetitions and you will constantly change sides, watching your neck and discomfort in it.

bicycle crunches

Bicycle crunches are one of the best abdominal exercises . This exercise simulates the horizontal displacement of the bicycle, it guarantees a complete work to the belly.

Bicycle crunches can be done both in static exercise mode and dynamic exercises .

• First of all, you should lie on the floor with your legs extended and your feet slightly raised, placing your hands on the sides of your head.
• Bend your right knee as you twist your left upper body to touch your elbow to your knee.
• Finally, repeat the same movement with the left knee and right elbow. He repeats this alternating between the two legs.

Once you start kicking uncontrollably, you will lose a lot of tension in your belly and separate yourself from your own end. Because with less tension, less activation and, therefore, less muscle development with crunches executed incorrectly.

reverse crunches

The reverse crunches , also known as reverse crunches , are a variant of the classic execution in which the limbs and the hips make the active displacement, while the back remains fully or partially supported on the ground.

We are talking about a recommended style for beginners in abdominal crunches , because the tension and magnitude is much less than with the typical variant. Even though the test indicates that the latter is not harmful to your back, it is quite common for it to cause pain and discomfort among novice practitioners.

• Flex your extremities and bring them towards the abdomen and then lower them with control and without touching the ground. If you want to increase more magnitude, do so.
• Each one changes its magnitude, so it is essential that you integrate them into your routine to be able to fully work your belly.

There are several types of reverse abdominal exercises that you can do at home:

1)Classic reverse crunches

• Lie on your stomach on the floor with your limbs bent as if you were going to do a traditional sit -up.
• Place your arms at your sides with palms seconding on the floor area.
• Do it without separating your back from the ground or moving your hip too much.

If you already have experience, you can raise the hips to bring the extremities a little further, to the level of your chest.

2)Reverse bicycle crunches

• Raise your right leg with the purpose of bringing your knee up to your chest. In parallel, raise your left elbow and bend your torso inward so that it touches your knee.
• As you stretch, kick your straight leg into the air so that the leg is fully extended at a 45-degree angle.

3)Extended limbs

It is effective for working the lower rectus abdominis, an area that takes longer to define than the upper abdominals .

This crunches exercise is carried out by means of these rules:

• Lie down on the floor with your limbs fully extended.
• Raise your extremities two cm so that they make a parallel line with respect to the ground.

If it is difficult for you not to touch the ground when lengthening your limbs, the first few times you do it you can do it from the ground, until you have the necessary strength in the lower abdomen to perform this abdominal exercise without this little help.

4)Height of limbs in scissors

Variation of abdominal crunches that you can integrate into your routine as soon as you have mastered the previous one.

• Lie down on the floor with your limbs fully extended.
• Raise the limbs two cm off the ground and then, continuing to stretch them, bring them as high as you can in the direction of your torso.

The purpose is that you do not bend your knees when raising your extremities, this abdominal exercise requires flexibility, so if you are not too flexible we recommend that you do stretching or yoga to work on this.

5)Air kick

These steps will help you perform this crunching exercise successfully:

• Join the extremities and raise them in a straight line until forming a vertical.
• Then, kick into the air vertically, without dividing the limbs and taking care of the technique so as not to change the posture too much.