Having a strong core is crucial for so many different exercises, as well as our overall posture and stability. Crunches are a great standby for improving core strength, but let’s be honest, it’s nice to spice things up once in a while. Here’s a simple crunch variation that’s sure to get your abs fired up in no time.
How to do tabletop crunches:
Lie on your mat, and bring your hands behind your head. Bring your feet up into a tabletop position. Feel your tailbone and lower back anchor down into the mat.
Exhale as you lift your shoulders up off the mat. Inhale as you lower back down.
Repeat for 1 minute.
Make sure your knees stay stacked over your hips and your shins parallel to the floor. The knees will want to lean in toward the chest, so be mindful of that.
You can target your legs in this move by squeezing a block between your thighs, making sure it doesn’t fall to the ground.
Keep your low back imprinted on the mat for the entire exercise, drawing your belly button toward your spine to engage the core properly.
To make this move a bit easier, you can position an exercise ball underneath your legs, so long as they stay in that same 90-degree position.
Fire up this move even more by holding your crunch for a few seconds at the top.
Keep the head and neck relaxed in your hands as you perform this move to prevent any straining or injuries.
If you want to target your obliques, you can incorporate some side crunches into the mix.
First and foremost, tabletop crunches are a core move, designed to specifically target your abdominal muscles. The more you flex those core muscles, the stronger they will become, and your posture, stability, and balance can all improve as a result. And you’ll quickly find the reverse tabletop position in this crunch variation works your lower abdominals a lot more than standard crunches.
The bottom line is, if your abs days are getting a bit stale, or you really want to target your low abs, tabletop crunches are a simple and effective crunch variation to include in your next workout.
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