Decline crunch

Exercise details

• Target muscle: Rectus Abdominis
• Synergists: Internal and External Obliques
• Mechanics: Isolation
• Force: Pull

Starting position

1. Lie on your back (supine) on a declined bench and hook your feet under the rolls.
2. Position your hands either across your chest or behind your head or neck.
3. To protect your lower back, press it down, against the bench.

Execution

1. Keeping your neck neutral and lower back pressed against the bench, exhale as you raise your head and shoulders off the bench by flexing your abdomen.
2. Hold for a count of two.
3. Inhale as you lower your head and shoulders back to the starting position and relax your abdomen.
4. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Comments and tips

• Keep your neck neutral; there should be lots of space between your chin and sternum.
• Don’t allow any momentum to build up; keep the movement slow and under control.
• By fully relaxing your abdomen before each contraction, you will ensure that your muscles fully and dynamically contract during each repetition.
• Make the decline crunch more difficult by keeping your arms stretched up, or by holding a weight plate either on your chest or behind your head.
• See also the decline sit-up, twisting crunch and the 90-degree crunch on bench.

Decline crunch videos

Sources

ExRx.net, Incline Crunch