# Doing Crunches **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2004, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106 "2004-01-06T23:31:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BlueMit11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@BlueMit11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueMit11)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/1 "2004-01-06T23:31:13Z")
It seems to me that, though one might think it very simple just to do a few crunches, there are several ways of doing this exercise. The way I have learned is most effective is to put your hands behind your head, raise your legs to your jest and touch your elbows to your knees. But there are even slight variations to this. I am looking to lose a little bit of flab around the navel area and to develop abs-what do you think is the best form to use for this? ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/2 "2004-01-07T00:16:26Z")
As my high school weight lifting teacher told us, “the best exercise is the one you’ll do…” Janda sit ups are probably your best bet. They’re a bit hellish though, and you can get a decent workout (close to those) by keeping your thighs perpendicular to the ground. Don’t forget your V crunches, wherein you lie completely flat, bring your arms up and your legs to meet at a point in front of your belly button. For those of us who can’t do that, you can also try “double crunches” wherein you start with your shoulders and your feet off the ground (like a half-assed V) and bring them together, then out again. Those are pretty good. Medicine ball crunches, crunches to the side, crunches straight up… Remember to keep working your back also, especially your lower back, so keep doing the “fishes.” Lie on your stomach and bring your head and legs up as far as you can. Unless you’ve got a good diet and have a certain body type, it’s entirley possible that your crunches will just build up your abs without actually burning any fat, so you’ll look like you have a bigger gut. You’ll have to temper these with other sorts of exercise to get rid of the fat though. If you’re truly obsessed, two of today’s most “respected” underground fitness gurus, Matt Furey and Pvael Tsatoline have abs books (“Combat Abs” and “Bulletproof Abs” respectively), I’ve heard they’re quite brutal though. ---
**Author:** ![Vezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b38774/32.png) [@Vezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vezer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/3 "2004-01-07T00:29:40Z")
Basic Crunch: On your back, thighs vertical to the ground. Hands interlaced behind your head. Bring your elbow to your knees and hold for a “one-thousand” count. Crunches work the upper part of your abdominals and give that all important “six pack” look. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/4 "2004-01-07T00:38:21Z")
The ab exercises aren’t the most important thing in acheiving your goal - the cardio is. I’d concentrate on that, and just do whatever ab routine you can handle for now -they all do some good. Once you get to being able to actually see the muscles, it’ll make sense to vary the exercises in order to get the particular look you want. You won’t be able to tell how these different exercise variations affect the _look_ of your six-pack until the fat get’s thinned out anyway, so concentrate on making that happen ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/5 "2004-01-07T01:10:03Z")
Crunches are the single most-misused exercise out there. They don’t require enough calories to burn a significant amount of fat and they’re not physiologically capable of flattening your stomach, which are the two reasons why most people start doing them. But I want to address another common misconception: that it’s possible to burn fat from a body part by working that body part. That’s just not how it works. Your body burns fat in a pattern that’s determined by your genetics, and nothing you do can change that pattern. So on to the crunches. The way to get your body to burn fat is to expend a lot of energy, and crunches just don’t have the energy expenditure unless you’re doing a whole shitload of them, and in that time you could’ve done something more productive. Crunches can’t flatten your stomach because they work the wrong muscle. That six-pack that everyone wants is known as the _rectus abdominis_. It’s a long muscle that runs from the bottom of the ribcage to the top of the pubic bone, and it contracts to bring them closer together. That’s it. The muscle that you’re actually using to suck in your gut when a pretty girl walks by is the _transversus abdominis_. You can’t see that one–it runs around your abdominal cavity under the surface muscles. If you want a flat stomach, train that. How? Easy. Suck in your gut as much as you can and start walking for distance. Also, it doesn’t [look](http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/articles/aerobicexercise.htm) like aerobic exercise is all that effective for weight or fat loss. So what’s a guy to do? It should be obvious that the key is your diet. That’s what you have to concentrate on to lean out. There are literally a thousand different plans out there, but as long as you have these [seven habits](http://www.testosterone.net/nation_articles/291seven.jsp), you should be OK. The next thing to do is to exercise, but given that aerobic exercise isn’t that hot, you’ll have to take a new perspective. One immutable fact that you should realize is that you spend much more time each day not exercising than you do exercising. So the smart thing to do is to focus on raising your metabolism when you’re not exercising. The way to do this is intensity. Go for short, balls-to-the-wall workouts that leave you hurting (but not injured!). These require significant recovery, which causes you to burn more fat while you’re not exercising. If you want some advice with a program like that, say so, and I’ll toss out a few ideas. ---
**Author:** ![BlueMit11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@BlueMit11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueMit11)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/6 "2004-01-07T02:02:06Z")
Thanks. I’m not just doing crunches, I am also lifting and running some. My lifting goes something like this: Bench Incline Curls Leg Press Butterfly Triceps Wide and Narrow I am fairly intense with this and my running because I don’t do it regularly enough. When I do do it I figure I might as well get the most out of it, so I go all out. If you have any advice, sure I’d like to hear it. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/7 "2004-01-07T06:05:46Z")
Yeah, that’s a pretty typical beginners program. It’s a little late tonight, but I’ll toss some basic tips in here tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![fezpp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fezpp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fezpp)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/8 "2004-01-07T13:17:36Z")
> [@](#): > > **Originally Posted by _Vezer_** > Basic Crunch: On your back, thighs vertical to the ground. Hands interlaced behind your head. Bring your elbow to your knees and hold for a “one-thousand” count. Interlacing your fingers behind your head is a bad idea because as your abs get tired you tend to pull with your arms and therefore put an unhealthy amount of pressure on your neck. Fingertips on the temples gives the same weight distribution without the risk to the neck. ---
**Author:** ![SAustinTx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@SAustinTx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SAustinTx)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/9 "2004-01-07T17:56:01Z")
I wanted to bring up another closely related issue which came up the other day: crunches vs. situps. I was debating with an acquaintance about this, and his position is that situps are better because they work a greater range of muscles, but I seem to recall reading in fitness magazines that situps can actually injure your lower back. Who’s right? ---
**Author:** ![collinsc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@collinsc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/collinsc)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/10 "2004-01-07T18:11:13Z")
While we’re on it, and I dont mean to hijack, it was mentioned briefly above, the importance of working your back as well. What are some good exercises to work a larger range of the lower back? The fish thing, or superman or whatever, is good for a while, but it feels pretty limited in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/11 "2004-01-07T19:19:35Z")
A great site for information on exercises to work specific muscles is found at [www.exrx.net](http://www.exrx.net). Specifically, check out their [Exercise and Muscle Directory](http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html). ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/12 "2004-01-07T19:23:49Z")
Also, it seems **ultrafilter** knows WAY more about this stuff than me (I’ve never even heard of transversus abdominis), but did Google a site with some exercises to work that muscle. See [this article](http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article/0,6916,s1-1-77-0-169,00.html) for more. ---
**Author:** ![Bobby\_Roberts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Bobby\_Roberts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobby_Roberts)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/13 "2004-01-07T19:36:18Z")
The best thing for my abs has always been running. A simple program of light to moderate jogging will do more for your abs than daily crunches. Jogging strengthens your hips, abs, and lower back along with helping you to quickly lose fat. You probably already have some nice abs, but, as usually is the case, they are just covered up. I went through an aerobic ab program while at college that consisted of various strenuous exercises for 30 min/day. It did a good job. After getting done with that I started jogging every other day with a good friend. I saw far more benefit to my abs from jogging. The ab program strengthed up the mid-section, but the jogging got rid of the annoying fat still around the navel. Good Luck! ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/14 "2004-01-07T19:39:42Z")
The best exercises for the lower back are heavy lifts done while standing. These require your back, obliques, and both inner and outer abdominal muscles to work to keep you balanced. My favorites are the military press, squat, and deadlift (all of which are well-described on ExRx, one of the best sites out there). **BlueMit11** , I’ll be back with your program a little later. ---
**Author:** ![Boo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@Boo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/15 "2004-01-07T21:26:07Z")
With abs, you want to hit them from several angles…crunches work mostly the upper portion. add leg raises for the lower…add something for the obliques…do cable crunches…incline situps, reverse cruches, ab machines, etc etc. it doesn’t matter how hard you work them, if you don’t lose the fat they’ll never show. this time of year gets irratating in the gym. overweight people basically camp out on all the ab equipment like that alone is going to make them thin ---
**Author:** ![BlueMit11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@BlueMit11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueMit11)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/16 "2004-01-08T00:37:19Z")
Thanks **ultrafilter**. Can’t wait to see it… ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/17 "2004-01-08T17:21:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BlueMit11 \* > \*\*Thanks **ultrafilter**. Can’t wait to see it… \*\* I’m still running a little behind, but I should be able to put something together tonight. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-crunches/223106/18 "2004-01-08T18:02:23Z")
I thought about putting together a program, but then I started thinking that there are a lot of beginners programs out there, so I should just find a good one and pass it on. So I looked around, and I found one that I like. There are two programs spelled out [here](http://www.stumptuous.com/program1.html). I think you should train three times weekly, and alternate between those two. So the first week, you’d do program 1, then program 2, then program 1 again. Second week, you’d switch the numbers. Don’t lift weights two days in a row–either go Monday, Wednesday, Friday; or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Keep Sunday as a no-exercise day, cause you can use the time off. Definitely stretch on the days you’re not lifting, and you can do some light aerobic work if you’d like. And have a look around the rest of that [site](http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html). Yeah, it’s aimed at women, but there’s a lot of good advice on there, especially for the less experienced.