Crunches are one of the best exercises to build up your abdominal muscles quickly, and the reverse crunch takes that move and turns it on its head, almost literally. You will need to lie flat on your back for this move, and I’ll show you how you do a reverse crunch and what it does for you.
Why would someone include this exercise in their workout regimen? Reverse crunches are actually really useful for building up specific parts of the body. Once you learn how to do it and you find out what benefits it offers, you might want to incorporate it into your workout as well.
The good thing about the reverse crunch is that there is no need to master the standard crunch before you head right into doing the reverse crunch. It doesn’t build on the standard crunch at all, instead completely changing up the method to be practically a new exercise.
How Do You Do a Reverse Crunch
This exercise begins by you lying down on your back. How great is that? I like how relaxed I feel right before I start the reverse crunch, just resting comfortably on my back. I could go to sleep or do some exercise, and sometimes that’s a tough choice.
From the reclined position on the floor or a mat, place your arms at your side. Then, raise your legs to point where the floor and your thighs are perpendicular to one another. Your knees should be bent at a 90° angle. Breathe out gradually and bring your abs together, contracting them.
Pull your knees up to your chest and lift your hips from the floor. Stay in that position for a few moments and then lower your legs gradually back to the initial position.
You want to control all of your movements when you do the reverse crunch. The form is important, but so too is making sure that all of your movements are steady and controlled rather than jerky. Slow and steady movements will keep you from injuring yourself and will also make sure that you’re keeping tension where it’s supposed to be- on your abdominal muscles.
This also decreases the risk that you’ll injure your back. If you’re not being careful with your movements, you can put strain on your lower back, and this can happen when you rush through the reverse crunch movements. You don’t want to be arching your back as your legs lower either, as that means you’re not controlling the movements like you should be.
What Does a Reverse Crunch Work
Would like to know what reverse crunches do for you and why they should be included in your workout? The reverse crunch is excellent for building up major abdominal muscles. It works on the sides of your abdomen and builds your external obliques. It’s also an easier exercise to do for people who have neck pain or you feel uncomfortable when they try to do a sit-up or a standard crunch.
If you want great looking apps that are also very powerful and useful, reverse crunches are for you. This exercise helps to build up your core, strengthening the middle section of your body, which improves stability, balance, overall posture, and athletic performance. You’ll be able to move farther, last longer and not feel as much pain when you work out or play sports.
Strengthening the abdominal muscles helps you with daily tasks too. Any bending over that you do, as well as lifting, twisting, and reaching, will all benefit from the added strength provided by reverse crunches. It’s also a good addition to your workout because it can work your abs in different ways than what other exercises might.
If you want a comprehensive abdominal workout, I really think reverse crunches should be part of your regimen.
Reverse Crunches Variations
I want to share with you a few different ways you can modify the reverse crunch to make it more interesting or to work your body in other ways.
Seated Reverse Crunch
Start this exercise by sitting down on a bench and leaning back until you make a 45 degree angle with your torso. Use your hands to grip the bench and support yourself and extend your feet in front of you. Pull you knees all the way to your chest tightly, and then lower them back down slowly. What this does for you is work your lower abs more than the normal reverse crunch work. It also brings other muscles from your core into exercise and builds up your strength, improving your overall balance at the same time.
Medicine Ball Reverse Crunch
A medicine ball is required for this exercise, and you need to hold the ball between your knees the entire time you do the exercise. The weight of the ball makes the reverse crunch even more beneficial for you, creating extra exertion and helping you to have better control over your movement. It reduces some of the risks of doing improper reverse crunches, keeping you from doing jerky movements. Just do the reverse crunch the same way you normally would but holding an exercise ball the entire time.
Reverse Oblique Crunch
How do you do a reverse crunch that works the side abs? Try this reverse oblique variation that changes things just slightly for you.
You start out the same way, keeping your feet lifted off the ground while lying down with your back flat on the floor as normal. The difference comes when you raise your knees to meet your chest. You want to just twist them a little bit to one side. What this does is force your oblique muscles on that side to contract. From that position, lower your legs slowly and then do the same motion for the other side. Make sure you’re not twisting so much that you fall over.
Resistance Band Reverse Crunches
Doing this exercise with the resistance band involved can help provide tension for your abs. That means that you’re abs get more of a workout and develop faster to become stronger. Using the resistance band also helps you to keep the exercise under control, eliminating jerky movements and making it a safer exercise overall.
If you want to get maximum ab sculpting results from the reverse crunch, then try adding a resistance band to the exercise.
Start by placing the band at the base of a pole or the leg of a bench. Loop the other end over your ankles to create tension in the band when your feet are low. With that in place, pull your knees to your chest and lift your hips in the standard reverse crunch motions. Slowly lower your legs back down to the initial position, pulling on the resistance band as you do that.
Now you know a few ways to do the reverse crunch besides just the standard method. If you’re tired of doing regular crunches, the reverse crunch can be a great alternative. Taking it further with some of these variations can help to build your abs in different ways, giving you a full abdominal workout and giving you asculpted look you’ll love.
It’s important that you know how to do reverse crunches properly so you don’t injure yourself and so that you can maximize your benefits and your results. That’s why I think it’s so helpful to go in depth and cover all the details so that people don’t make common mistakes When doing an exercise like this.
