According to “Combat the Fat” author Jeff Anderson, new research suggests that,
You may be able to spot reduce body fat from your abdomen. Choose an exercise for the upper abs, one for the lower portion of the muscle and another for the obliques (love handle areas). For example do a giant set of crunches, reverse crunches and side jack-knifes.
This means you do one set of as many crunches as you can, then do as many reverse crunches and follow that with side jack-knifes. Repeat the cycle or giant set three times. In short, the crunches family is one of the best exercises to reduce belly fat.
It’s also important for the overall core strength and performance.
Strength exercises such as sit-ups and crunches do not (variations do) cause the spot reduction of fat. Achieving “six pack abs” requires both abdominal muscle hypertrophy training and fat loss over the abdomen—which can only be done by losing fat from the body as a whole.
WHAT IS CRUNCH?
The crunch is the most basic form of abdominal exercises which needs no equipment and therefore can be performed anytime anywhere.
A crunch begins with a supine (lying face up) position with knees bent. The movement begins by curling the shoulders towards the pelvis. The hands can be behind or beside the neck or crossed over the chest.
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Injury can be caused by pushing against the head or neck with hands.
BASIC TO PRO?
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Once started, the difficulty can be increased gradually as per need (but starting from the basic is advisable). The difficulty of the crunch can be increased by lying on a declined bench or holding a weight under the chin, on the chest or behind the head. Crunch exercises may be performed on exercise balls. Increasing the distance will also increase the load on the abdominals due to leverage.
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An approved crunch begins with you lying down, one knee bent, and hands positioned beneath your lower back for support. “Do not hollow your stomach or press your back against the floor”, McGill says. Gently lift your head and shoulders, hold briefly and relax back down.
VARIATIONS-
- The reverse crunch is a crunch done with the upper back on the floor and lifting the hips up instead.
- The twisting crunch is performed by lifting one shoulder at a time. More emphasis is placed on the obliques.
- The Thai crunch is performed by hitting the stomach after full contraction. This variation is used by Muay Thai fighters to condition the core to take hits from punches or knees.
- The cable crunch is performed while kneeling upright by curling the body to pull down on a cable machine. The hips are kept motionless.
According to “Combat the Fat” author Jeff Anderson, new research suggests that,
You may be able to spot reduce body fat from your abdomen. Choose an exercise for the upper abs, one for the lower portion of the muscle and another for the obliques (love handle areas). For example do a giant set of crunches, reverse crunches and side jack-knifes.
This means you do one set of as many crunches as you can, then do as many reverse crunches and follow that with side jack-knifes. Repeat the cycle or giant set three times. In short, the crunches family is one of the best exercises to reduce belly fat.
It’s also important for the overall core strength and performance.
Strength exercises such as sit-ups and crunches do not (variations do) cause the spot reduction of fat. Achieving “six pack abs” requires both abdominal muscle hypertrophy training and fat loss over the abdomen—which can only be done by losing fat from the body as a whole.
WHAT IS CRUNCH?
The crunch is the most basic form of abdominal exercises which needs no equipment and therefore can be performed anytime anywhere.
A crunch begins with a supine (lying face up) position with knees bent. The movement begins by curling the shoulders towards the pelvis. The hands can be behind or beside the neck or crossed over the chest.
Injury can be caused by pushing against the head or neck with hands.
BASIC TO PRO?
Once started, the difficulty can be increased gradually as per need (but starting from the basic is advisable). The difficulty of the crunch can be increased by lying on a declined bench or holding a weight under the chin, on the chest or behind the head. Crunch exercises may be performed on exercise balls. Increasing the distance will also increase the load on the abdominals due to leverage.
An approved crunch begins with you lying down, one knee bent, and hands positioned beneath your lower back for support. “Do not hollow your stomach or press your back against the floor”, McGill says. Gently lift your head and shoulders, hold briefly and relax back down.
VARIATIONS-
- The reverse crunch is a crunch done with the upper back on the floor and lifting the hips up instead.
- The twisting crunch is performed by lifting one shoulder at a time. More emphasis is placed on the obliques.
- The Thai crunch is performed by hitting the stomach after full contraction. This variation is used by Muay Thai fighters to condition the core to take hits from punches or knees.
- The cable crunch is performed while kneeling upright by curling the body to pull down on a cable machine. The hips are kept motionless.
