Machine crunches not only build abdominal muscles and tone the waist, but also protect the back and spine by improving posture. Like most ab exercises, machine crunches are performed by bending the trunk and rolling the chest.
How do you do the exercise?
Select the weight you wish to use to perform the exercise then sit down with your feet behind the callipers and grab the handles. Roll your chest up, contracting your abs tightly and bringing your chest closer to your pelvis. Slowly return to the starting position in a controlled manner and repeat until the end of your set.
CAUTION:Â Do not put too much weight The abdominal muscles should be contracted by rolling up the torso without pulling with the arms, as this would put more strain on the hip flexors. The contraction of the abdominal muscles must be done by rolling up the chest without pulling with the arms. The movement must be slow and controlled.
Tips
- Do not block your breathing during the exercise: Blow out by rolling your chest downwards and inhale upwards.
Variants
- You can replace the machine crunch exercise with high pulley or rope crunches to keep a continuous tension.
- For beginners, crunches on the floor on a mat are preferred before adding weight.
Find this exercise in the following complete program:
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