You may think that doing 100 crunches a day will get you a six pack fast, but nothing could be further from the truth. To get a six pack, you’ll have to exercise as often as possible but it’s going to take longer than 10 minutes (no matter what some fitness influencers tell you). And right now, fewer than 5% of adults do 30 minutes of exercise per day.
There are multiple benefits to doing physical exercise every day. One of the most significant benefits is that physical activity can help to reduce your risk for certain conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure – and, of course, it’ll make you ripped.
So while you need to do a lot more than crunches to get ripped, they certainly won’t hurt in your quest for that elusive six pack. This article will go over crunch benefits, and the most common types people enjoy doing. To help us break down these ab exercises we reached out to Hollywood trainer Don Saladino, who’s helped get people like Sebastian Stan and Ryan Reynolds into superhero shape.
To get your six pack to show, you have to get your body fat down – there’s no negotiating that. And to do that you have to burn calories, and to do that you have to workout your abs. These at home exercises give you the freedom to develop a routine that fits into your busy schedule without the hassle of traveling to a gym. So keep this page bookmarked for even after the coronavirus pandemic blows over.
Here, we run over the most common types of crunches and their benefits:
The reverse crunch is when you lie flat on your back, tighten your abs, lift your hips off the floor, and then crunch your knees inward toward your chest.
A reverse crunch is one of the most basic of ab exercises. It helps to strengthen your lower back, hips, and spine.
The benefits of reverse crunches include making your ab muscles stronger and more flexible, as well as helping to fix your posture.
Don’s Advice:
I like reverse crunches actually. I like the reverse crunch because our mid-back is staying pretty flat. I mean you’ll notice the lower-back sometimes elevates off, but I think the reverse crunch is a much safer movement. I really can feel like I’m pulling from more of my lower abs, which I know it’s still a full lap movement, but I like the connection that I get with it. I think it’s a lot safer.
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BraunS / Getty
Bicycle Crunch
A bicycle crunch helps target two different areas at the same time: the rectus abdominis and your obliques. The standard bicycle crunch consists of lying on your back with your hands behind your head, then lifting each knee up toward your chest in the direction of the opposite shoulder.
When you do a bicycle crunch, you’re working out your side abdominal muscles and also toning your thighs.
A variation on this exercise is the standing bicycle crunch. It is just like the traditional bicycle crunch, except you’re standing. You twist your torso to the right and bring your left elbow down toward your lifted knee. Then you repeat this step but for the opposite side.
Standing bicycle crunches benefits include burning more calories than with the traditional maneuver and creating less strain on your lower back and neck.
Bicycle crunch step-by-step:
Lie supine with your legs out and off the floor and both hands behind head.
Crunch your abs to bring your right elbow to your left knee as you keep your non-working leg straight.
Alternate knees and elbows until you reach the desired rep count.
Don’s Advice:
I love hanging abs, whether it’s bent leg or straight leg. I love it for a few reasons. One, we’re working on grip. Two, we’re really working on, you know, stretching out the lap. We’re working on shoulder mobility. And if you’re doing it right, you’re not cheating. I mean those are, those are clean movements where, you know, it’s really safe plank touches, leg lowering. I mean these are, these are great movements because they’re also not putting you into a dangerous position. I think you’ve got to look at that. What’s the risk reward on a lot of these exercises? If you’re someone who has back pain or having hip problems, stay away from crunches.
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Undrey
Side Crunch
A side crunch is when you lie on your back with your legs held together at a bent angle. You then turn onto your side from your waist, hands behind your head, and then squeeze your abdominal muscles while you lift your shoulders off the floor.
When you do side crunches, you’re benefited by working out both the external and internal obliques. Side crunches help to sculpt your waist and can reduce the appearance of love handles.
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Jasminko Ibrakovic
Oblique Crunch
Oblique crunches cover a wide range of different types of exercises. For example, a bicycle crunch could be considered an oblique crunch.
Some of the more popular oblique crunches include the:
Oblique V-up
Side plank oblique crunch
Bear crunch
The primary benefit of an oblique crunch is that you are targeting your oblique muscles to strengthen and hone them.
But Saladino’s not the biggest fan of them. “I’m not a huge fan in putting our spines in the flexion,” he says. “If you have back pain and a crunch aggravates you, you got to stay away from it.”
But, he adds, “Right now in these times, I think if someone wants to do it because it’s allowing them to feel good and their backs feel fine, you know, knock yourself out.”
