Reverse crunch alternative how to#
Reverse crunch alternative free#

Start in a sit up position with your torso lying face up on the floor with your knees bent at 90-degree angles.It can be performed either by throwing the ball against the wall or using a partner to pass the ball back and forth to. The seated medicine ball throw can be made harder with a heavier ball. Ideally, you should use a medicine ball, but you can use a wall ball as an alternative. The seated medicine ball throw is a challenging alternative to the cable crunch that is performed more explosively. To load the reverse crunch, your can hold onto a dumbbell between your feet or attach your ankles to a cable machine using a cable ankle attachment.Įnsure that the cable is set to the bottom position of the cable column and that your feet are far enough away from the cable column so that there is constant tension in the cable throughout.Īlternatively, wrap your feet around a resistance band that is attached to a fixed anchor and ensure that the anchor is on the same level as the ground. Ensure that your knees maintain 90-degree angles at all times.In a controlled manner, return your lower back and hips to the floor and bring your feet back to its initial starting position.Execute the exercise by bringing your knees back towards your chest and lift your lower back and hips off the floor.Take a deep breath in and exhale when you are about to crunch.Bend your knees at 90-degree angles with your feet close together and calves parallel to the floor.Lie down in a face up position with your arms by your side.Regardless, your rectus abdominis is still targeted, making the reverse crunch an effective substitute. The abs are targeted through moving your lower body as opposed to moving through your upper body as you would do with a cable crunch. You can perform this exercise with just your body weight or hold a dumbbell between your feet if you want to load it. The reverse crunch is an easy alternative to the cable crunch that you can perform anywhere from your home to the gym. Cable Crunch Alternatives: 11 Exercises 1. You must have the option to add weight to the movement. It’s not enough that you can simply perform more sets and reps with your body weight. Takeaway: It is important that the cable crunch alternative can provide the option of being able to load resistance to the exercise. It is easy to increase the total number of reps for many different exercises, but there can be a limit to how much you can keep on increasing reps before the exercise plateaus or the workout becomes boring for you. Increase the load that is performed for the same sets and reps prescription.Increase the number of total reps performed in the workout.Be Able To Progressively Overload Your Abs With Additional Weightĭue to the nature of using a cable machine to train the abs, you can progressively overload through two ways: Takeaway: Any substitute for the cable crunch will need to primarily activate the rectus abdominis, which will involve a lot of bending-type core movements rather than twisting-type core movements. The transversus abdominis (the deep core muscles that sit below the rectus), external obliques (the side part of your core that sits below your lats), and hip flexors will be secondary muscle groups. The rectus abdominis’ main function is to bend the body forward and flex the spine. This is the part of the core that traditionally looks like the 6-pack muscles. The primary muscle group responsible for the cable crunch is the rectus abdominis. The muscles worked in the cable crunch exercise are: Let’s cover both of these criteria below. Be able to progressively overload your abs with additional weight.What Makes A Good Cable Crunch Alternative?Ī good cable crunch alternative will be able to satisfy the following: My goal is for you to feel like you can train your abs regardless of what equipment you have available.

Reverse crunch alternative free#

I will also include variations that involve the use of: (1) your own bodyweight, (2) a Roman chair, and (3) a free weight bench.

Reverse crunch alternative how to#

In this article, I will go through what makes this list of exercises great alternatives to the cable crunch, how to perform them, and tips to make the most of them. The 11 best cable crunch alternatives are:

Not being able to do cable crunches should not stop you from training your abdominals though, so I’ve put together a list of the best substitutes. However, cable crunches rely on the use of a cable column, which can be a barrier to those who do not have access to a cable machine, either because you work out at home or the cable machines are always busy at your gym. Cable crunches are a great core exercise that can build your abdominal muscles, which is why they are performed by bodybuilders, strength athletes, and general gym-goers.