Crunch

Starting position

• Lie on your back on a bench or mat, knees bent, feet planted.
• Hands loosely behind the head, elbows pointing out.
• Lower back stays on the pad.

Execution

• Tighten the abs and curl head, shoulders and upper back up, looking diagonally upward.
• Hold briefly at the top and breathe out.
• Roll down slowly; the shoulders only touch the pad briefly.
• More weight: hold a plate behind your head with both hands and log it as extra weight.

Common mistakes

• Pulling on the head with the hands, chin pressed to the chest.
• Sitting all the way up, so the hips work instead of the abs.
• Using momentum and dropping at the bottom.