Get Off The Floor! Benefits Of "Crunchless" Abs Training

Crunches ARE very effective for abdominal training and toning BUT there are great reasons to train your core off the ground!

Five Benefits of "Crunchless" Abdominal Training

1. Crunches are not very functional in everyday life. Whereas balancing exercise,s which target the core to stabilize the body, will help you out in the winter when you step on a patch of ice, or in athletics such as: cycling, running, skating, and gymnastics.

2. Doing crunches all of the time will put a cap on results. After you have exhausted body weight crunches, weighted, and oblique, your body will no longer have a challenge to adapt to. It's a good idea to train your core in other ways, to keep the body challenged and changing.

3. Crunches are isolated. Why just work your abs when you could be working other muscle groups at the same time? An exercise such as the mountain climber, works the arms, shoulders, and chest. It also eases stress in the hips and improves range of motion.

4. Crunches are neglected anyway. Not only do many people dislike crunches in the first place, but by placing them at the tail end of the workout, they are not exactly performed enthusiastically. Adding exercises that train the abs into the workout such as woodchops, or jumping on a trampoline with a twist, will take care of the abs properly, before energy levels are depleted.

5. They are not sport/activity specific. If you practice a discipline, it's more efficient to cater exercises to your activity. If you train in martial arts, kicking a sparring pad while focusing on having the movement coming from the core will train your abs for the sport. In yoga, good planks are crucial for sun salutations. I use belly dancing moves to train my abs, and nothing has ever been more effective!

Crunches have their place, and I wouldn't recommend scrapping them all together, but know that there are other training options. Especially if you don't like them in the first place!

Train for Awesome Abs

Kaleena Lawless
Personal Training Specialist
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