Long Arm Crunch

Description

How to Do Long Arm Crunch

1. 1
   Setup

   Lie supine on the floor with your knees bent at a 90-degree angle and feet flat on the ground, hip-width apart.

2. 2
   Setup

   Extend both arms straight overhead and behind you, keeping them close to your ears with palms facing up or towards each other, maintaining a slight bend in the elbows.

3. 3

   Exhale as you engage your core, slowly curling your head and shoulders off the floor, reaching your fingertips towards the ceiling.

4. 4

   Continue to lift your upper back until your shoulder blades are fully off the ground, focusing on pulling your rib cage towards your pelvis while keeping your arms extended.

5. 5

   Inhale as you slowly and with control lower your upper body back down to the starting position, allowing your head and shoulders to gently touch the floor.

Tips

• Maintain the long lever by keeping your arms as straight and extended as possible throughout the entire movement to maximize the challenge on your rectus abdominis.
• Focus on a controlled descent, resisting gravity as you lower your torso back to the starting position to increase time under tension and muscle engagement.
• Exhale fully as you crunch up to help flatten your abs and engage your core more effectively, then inhale slowly on the way down.
• Initiate the movement by peeling your upper spine off the floor segment by segment, rather than just lifting your head, to ensure proper abdominal activation.

Common Mistakes

• ×Avoid pulling on your head or neck with your hands; instead, keep your neck neutral and gaze towards the ceiling or slightly forward to protect your cervical spine.
• ×Do not use momentum to swing your body up; focus on slow, deliberate contractions of your abdominal muscles for effective engagement.
• ×Refrain from lifting too high, as the goal is to curl the upper back off the floor, not to perform a full sit-up, to maintain tension on the rectus abdominis.