For pre-designed ab workouts, view EMG’s Ab Workouts.
Crunches Raised Hips Description
Step 1. Lie on your back with your heels on a bench, your knees bent at 90 degrees, and your hands either across your chest or behind your head.
Step 2. Lift your hips slightly off the ground. Use your upper abdominal muscles to raise your shoulder blades off the floor in a forward curling motion.
Step 3. Then, lower your shoulders to the starting position, lightly touching your shoulder blades to the floor.
Notes
Crunches are the primary exercise for working the upper ab. Crunches with raised hips is a variation on the crunch. By having the the feet on a bench, the user is more stable and can therefore isolate the upper abs more. The upper abs also have to work harder to complete the crunch because the user can not press down with his feet for leverage. It is important to keep the feet flat on the bench. Doing so keeps the core engaged throughout. A common mistake when performing crunches is to let the shoulder blades go flat on the ground between repetitions. By doing this, the user disengages the core muscles and this makes the exercise less effective. It is also important not to pull the head and neck upwards with your hands. Not only could this lead to a neck strain, but it makes the upper abs work less. Crunches should be performed using only the upper abs to perform the motion. The hands and arms are just for support and balance.
Updated: April 11th, 2015
