How To Do Stomach Crunches

Stomach crunches

Target: abdominals

Common mistakes that reduce the effectiveness of a stomach crunch are tucking the chin into your chest, jerking up into a crunch, raising yourself too high off the floor, and not keeping your abs contracted throughout the exercise.

"All the work should come from the abs, not the neck," says Nick. "If done properly, you should not feel any strain in the neck."

While crunches improve posture, stabilise the core muscles and contribute to a healthy back, doing hundreds of them is probably a waste of time. "No matter how many crunches you do, you won't get a six-pack if your abs are hidden under layers of fat," says Nick.

How to do a crunch correctly:

• Curl up until your shoulders are about three inches off the floor.
• Don't tuck your neck into your chest as you rise – imagine a tennis ball between your chin and chest.
• Contract your abs throughout the exercise.
• Don't jerk your head off the floor.

Source:nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/Top-10-gym-exercises-done-incorrectly.aspx