Crunch Variations That Work for Every Fitness Level and Workout Need

Whether you're dealing with back discomfort or seeking a more challenging workout, these crunch adaptations maximize the effectiveness of your core training.

The core is a popular muscle group for a good reason: Who doesn’t want protection from back pain, a healthy pelvic floor, and strength that helps power pretty much all of your limb’s movements? Crunches can be an excellent exercise to target your abdominal muscles through spinal flexion, which is flexing or rounding your spine.

However, many people perform crunches incorrectly and rely almost exclusively on flexion movements for their core training, which can lead to back pain and injury. Building a well-rounded core training routine that includes exercises that take place in all three planes of motion (sagittal, transverse, and frontal). Performing core exercises that consist of rotation and anti-rotation, isometric, extension, and anti-extension movements are essential for a strong, stable, mobile, and functional core. Examples include dead bugs, Pallof presses, active planks, bicycle crunches, and loaded carries (for example, farmer’s walks).

Related: Why Core Strength Is So Important (It Has Nothing to Do with Sculpting a Six-Pack)

How To Do a Crunch

To perform a crunch correctly, you must first learn how to engage your abs properly, which is trickier than you'd think. Most people tend to flex at the hips instead of the lumbar spine, which can strain your lower back and doesn't activate your abs effectively.

To start, lie down on the floor and tilt your pelvis so that your lower back (or sacrum) is pressed into the floor. Then, focus on curling your chest towards your belly button (or the bottom of your ribcage towards the top of your pelvis) by using your abdominal muscles. Moving this way will engage your abs and protect your spine instead of relying on your hip flexors to do the work.

1. Lay on your back on a mat with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Don't let your knees cave in or drop to the sides.

2. Press your lower back into the mat to prevent it from arching. Brace your core.

3. Curl your shoulder blades off the floor and extend your hands up your legs.

4. Curl higher, imagining crunching your rib cage toward your pelvis (or chest to belly button) using your abdominal muscles. Aim to reach your hands over your knees with each rep.

5. Lower back down with control, keeping your shoulder blades off the floor and core engaged the entire time.

6. Repeat for 10 to 30 reps.

Tips

Reaching your hands over your knees helps create a visual marker for your range of motion, ensuring a consistent repetition each time. If this is too challenging, place your arms across your chest or behind your head instead.

Related: Which Classic Core Move Is Best — Sit-Ups vs. Crunches?

8 Crunch Variations

Try these crunch variations for beginners, advanced, back pain, hitting your obliques, and more.

Variation for Beginners: Mini Crunch

One of the easiest ways for beginners to modify the crunch is to reduce the range of motion. This mini-crunch version is adaptable to your abilities. Reach a little higher as you get stronger, or start with a more extensive range of motion and reduce it throughout the set as needed.

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and lower back pressed into the floor.

2. Engage your abs and place your hands behind your head. Use your abdominal muscles to slowly lift your head, neck, and tops of your shoulder blades off the floor. Squeeze your abs, imagining bringing your chest toward your belly button by a few inches.

3. Lower back to the floor and repeat for 10 to 30 reps for 3 to 5 sets.

Advanced Variation: Suitcase Crunch

Suitcase crunches use a more extensive range of motion to up the challenge for your core. You can perform them with or without a weight, but if you can achieve more than 15 to 20 easily, it's best to add a weight to increase the resistance that will stimulate strength and muscle growth.

1. Lie on your back with your legs straight. Press your lower back into the floor and engage your abs.

2. Raise your arms over your head straight behind you. This is the open suitcase position. Hold a dumbbell in your hands to increase the challenge.

3. Raise your arms overhead, bringing your shoulder blades and back off the floor while simultaneously lifting your legs and bending your knees toward your torso.

4. Continue bringing your arms forward until they touch your feet. Alternatively, stop when they reach your knees if you cannot reach your feet.

5. Slowly reverse the motion with control, not allowing yourself to fall backward. Stick with regular crunches or try another variation if this is too difficult.

6. Aim for 10 to 30 reps for 3 to 5 sets.

Related: Why You Should Be Using the Cable Machine for Weighted Abs Exercises

Variation for Back Pain: McGill Curl-Up

Dr. Stuart McGill is the pre-eminent researcher on back pain, and his "big three" exercises are renowned for treating and preventing back pain. The McGill curl-up is an excellent crunch-like variation combining muscular contraction and breath control. It helps reduce movement at the spine and regain spinal and core stiffness so you can become pain-free. Only perform this exercise if you have been cleared to do so by your health care practitioner.

1. Lie on your back with your left leg straight and your right knee bent, your foot flat on the floor. Place your left hand under your lower back and push your lower back into your hand to obtain a neutral spine.

2. Place your fingers from your right hand on your side belly, then take a breath, breathing laterally to push your fingers away. Engage your core.
   

3. Look toward the ceiling and raise your head without bending your neck, then lift the tops of your shoulders slowly off the floor. Breathe in and then push your breath out between your lips so you can hear it. Repeat for 10 breaths.

4. Lower back to the floor. Repeat on the other side.

5. Repeat the entire process if desired.

Related: The 8 Best Mobility Exercises for When Your Body Feels Too Tight to Function

Variation for Yogis: Crunch Into Boat Pose

For yogis and non-yogis alike, the crunch into boat pose exercise is a fun and challenging crunch variation that uses dynamic and isometric movement to target your deep core muscles. If you've had trouble maintaining boat pose previously, this exercise will boost your confidence in no time.

1. Lie on your mat with your legs straight and a sight bend in your knees. Press your lower back into the floor and engage your abs.

2. Curl your upper back off the floor and lift your legs so you come to balance on your glutes. This is the starting position.

3. In a smooth motion, raise your back higher and bend your knees in toward you, straightening them into full boat pose or keeping them bent 90 degrees.

4. Reverse the movement slowly and with control, using your core muscles to return to the starting position, balancing on your glutes with all but your upper back and shoulders on the mat.

5. Repeat up to 10 times before taking a rest. Aim for 3 to 5 sets.

If you have tight hamstrings, you may wish to keep your knees bent rather than straightening your legs into a traditional full boat pose.

Related: The Best Yoga Poses for Stronger Abs

Variation for Obliques: Rotational Crunch

Oblique crunches take regular crunches one step further by adding spinal rotation, which hits your obliques, working in the frontal plane. You can perform this with your feet flat on the floor or try lifting your legs to about 90 degrees for more challenge. Hold a weight or medicine ball in your hands to progress this movement even more.

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and press your lower back into the floor. Engage your core.

2. Place your left arm on your abs or by your side and the right bent behind your head. Curl your right shoulder and upper back off the floor using your abs, angling toward your left knee.

3. Slowly and with control, lower back down. Repeat for 10 to 30 reps, then switch sides.

4. Aim for 3 to 5 sets.
   

Variation for Core Endurance: Toe Tap Crunch

This crunch variation is an advanced movement that focuses on holding the crunch while pulsing upward toward your toes. Hold a weight or medicine ball in your hands to progress this movement even more.

1. Lay on your back on a mat and raise your legs straight up. Lift your hips and shoulder blades off the floor and engage your core.

2. Reach up your right hand to touch the outside of your left foot, then lower your torso back down, keeping your shoulder blades off the floor. Reach up with your left hand to touch the outside of your right foot, then lower.

3. Repeat for 15 reps per side for a total of 30 reps for 3 to 5 sets.

Variation for Building Stability: Isometric Hold Crunch

Isometric holds increase the demand on the internal core muscles, helping align, stabilize, and support the spine while recruiting more motor units for greater muscle-building effects. Here, you'll push against yourself to perform an active isometric hold that really engages those deep core muscles.

1. Lay on your back on a mat, press your lower back into the floor, and lift your legs, knees bent about 90 degrees.

2. Lift your upper back off the mat and bring your right knee toward your chest while extending the left leg.

3. Fold your elbows to cross your arms inward and use your forearms to press against your right knee. Push your knee into your chest and press your arms against your knee to resist it, creating an isometric hold.

4. Hold for 10 seconds, then lower before repeating on the other side.

5. Aim for 5 to 10 reps for 2 to 3 sets.

Variation for Lower Abs: Reverse Crunch

The reverse crunch works your entire rectus abdominus, adding more of the lower portion of your abdominals into the mix.

1. Lay on your back on a mat or bench and press your lower back into the floor, knees bent with your feet flat on the floor.

2. Engage your core by curling your ribs toward your pelvis and bracing. Place your hands behind your head or across your chest.

3. Lift your legs by focusing on pulling them up using your abdominals, continuing to curl your legs toward your chest as far as you can, using your abdominal muscles. Your hips and lower back should rise off the mat.

4. Reverse the motion with control, tapping your toes on the floor, or if using a bench, lowering your feet without letting your lower back arch (this is a tougher variation).

5. Continue for 10 to 30 reps for 3 to 5 sets.

Related: 16 Plank Variations to Strengthen Your Core for Every Fitness Level

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