Master The Move How to perfect the reverse crunch

Flip the ab crunch to work your core more effectively

WHAT DO WALKING, reciting the alphabet and crunches have in common? They all become more difficult when performed backwards.

We’ll reserve judgment on the benefits of the first two, but here’s why you should consider an alternative take on your average sit-up. Like the normal kind, the reverse crunch primarily works the rectus abdominis (the ‘sixpack’ muscle) but it ramps up the burn by targeting the lower part of the muscle, too. Meanwhile, the rest of the region is also getting a good workout – the obliques (the muscles on either side of the rectus abdominis) and the transverse abdominis (the deepest of the abdominals).

The reverse crunch is also a great mobility exercise, says Charlotte Frazier, trainer and studio manager at F45 Croydon. ‘It’s particularly good if you’re stuck at your desk all day because it massages the spine and the shoulders, helping to ease tension and, as a result, improving your posture,’ she adds. Avoid this move if you’re pregnant, as this exercise causes compression in the abdomen.

Lie on your back and lift your legs, bending your knees to 90 degrees. Keep your hands by your sides, palms pressed into the ground. Lower back issues? ‘Place your hands under your lower back for support,’ says Frazier. Draw your belly button to your spine to engage your abs and pull your knees towards your chest to lift your hips off the floor.

Pause at the top, then slowly reverse the move to come down, touching one vertebra to the floor at a time. Tap your toes lightly on the floor at the bottom before going into rep number two. Breathe in as you crunch and out as you lower down. It’s your abs doing the work here – don’t rock backwards and forwards or allow momentum to carry you.