Reverse crunch with resistance band how to#
Reverse crunch with resistance band full#

It’s also more convenient to use ankle straps, and not have to hold a weight between your feet. Although, you don’t need much weight anyhow.

Reverse crunch with resistance band full#

The cable variation is a gamechanger because you can add incremental weight, and most people will never outgrow the full weight stack. Add resistance to bodyweight lying leg crunchesĪ basic lying leg crunch can become boring and unchallenging for those who are more advanced in their training. Besides the main benefits of training the abdominals, there are bonus benefits too. The cable reverse crunch fits a specific role, not really offered by other options. Secondary Muscles: Obliques, hip flexors.Don’t just focus on pulling the knees back as it’s more about what’s happening with the butt! Focus on curling the pelvis and remember to lift the butt off the floor to really engage the lower abs.If you don’t have access to a cable machine but still want to benefit from weighted leg crunches, you can do hanging leg raises, strap on some ankle weights, or hold a dumbbell, or exercise ball between your feet.It should be very challenging without extra resistance. If you’re a beginner to exercise or direct ab training, start with the bodyweight variation first.Watch a video demonstration of the cable reverse crunch, below. Slowly drop your hips and move your legs forward in the starting 90-degree legs bent position. Then repeat for the preferred number of reps.Focusing on curling the pelvis toward the ceiling, and squeeze both your lower and upper abs hard. Tense your core muscles, then pull your knees into your chest and lift your butt off the floor.

Lift your shoulders and head off the floor like you’re doing an upper ab crunch, as shown in the video example below.

Press your lower back flat on the ground. Extend your arms forward next to your butt and place the palms flat on the floor.

Now lie back on the floor and lift your knees up so you’re upper legs are vertical or perpendicular to the floor, and the legs are bent at a 90-degree angle.

Tip: Start with a very light weight and do a few reps to test the secureness of the ankle strap.

Sit on your butt facing the machine, then wrap the strap around your ankles and make sure it’s secure, and will not come off.

Slide the cable pulley to the lowest notch on the railing.

This section will guide you through the proper step-by-step process including machine setup, pre-set routine, and finally, the cable reverse crunch. The cable reverse crunch requires a little more setup and training experience compared to more basic abdominal exercises. Consequently, when iliopsoas contracts, it supports standing, sitting, and overall lower body movement. A powerful duo, these muscles, together, are the strongest and most important hip flexors. However, “hip flexors” usually refers to the psoas and iliacus that form the iliopsoas muscle. Not just one muscle, but several contribute to this action. The hip flexors are muscles that connect our spines to our legs, and they allow us to pull the knees back and lift the butt off the floor. The obliques’ position allows them to crunch the trunk sideways, and perform rotational movement of the upper body. Playing a sidekick role to the rectus abdominis during cable reverse crunches, obliques lie on either side of the abdominals, more laterally on the torso. Reverse cable crunches activate transverse abdominis, especially during the hip raise.

Slung between the ribs and pelvis too, they wrap around the torso, horizontally, like a lifting belt, and consequently acts like one, compressing the core, and stabilizing the spine. We also have deeper core muscles called the transverse abdominis. Most people think the abs are the bumpy ridges, aka six pack muscles. We see this during a regular lying floor crunch (lifting the head and shoulders off the floor), and when curling the pelvis and lifting the hips off the ground. Consequently, these muscles serve to curl the torso at both ends of its attachments. The fancy term for abdominal muscles, rectus abdominis are a long pair of muscles that run between the pelvis and lower chest.

Reverse crunch with resistance band how to#

We’ll show you how to do it correctly, and explain why the hips are key! Muscles Worked During The Cable Reverse CrunchĪ powerful core, and hip strengthening exercise, learn how cable reverse crunches train the abdominal and lower body muscles and understand the importance of training them. In this guide, we spill the beans on this must-have ab movement, that offers advantages over similar core-building powerhouses. For the best results, you need to incorporate movements that curl the torso at both ends and emphasize core muscle contraction (and oh, it feels so good!). Effective core training is not just doing a few weighted crunches, and planks (although they’re part of it).