Objective:
- Improve core strength, targeting the abdominal muscles and lats.
- Improve Stability
See this video from Men’s Health (no affiliation):
Equipment:
- Incline bench.
Technique:
- Set the bench to about 35/45 degrees.
- Roll back onto the bench and grip the sides next to the top of your head.
- Drive the back and lats into the bench to create a stable platform.
- Keep the feet together.
- Perform the crunch:
- Curl up and tuck in tight at the top.
- Lower to the bottom, but don’t relax all the way down to maintain tention.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps or until you start feeling it in your lower back.
Notes:
- As soon as you feel it in the lower back you’ve lost abdominal focus. Rest, reset and repeat.
- This is an alternative to normal crunches which doesn’t work the lats as much.