Ab Crunch Machine
A seated, loaded crunch that isolates the upper abs through a fixed flexion path — the gym's progressive answer to bodyweight crunches.
- Works
- Abs
- Equipment
- Machine
How to
- 1Sit on the machine and adjust the seat so the chest pad sits across your upper chest, not your throat.
- 2Hook your hands or arms into the handles and plant your feet firmly on the floor or foot pads.
- 3Brace your core and curl your ribcage down toward your hips, keeping the motion in the abs.
- 4Pause briefly at the bottom of the curl, squeezing the abs hard before reversing the motion.
- 5Return slowly to the start over 2 to 3 seconds, keeping tension on the abs the entire way up.
- 6Repeat for 10 to 15 controlled reps, never letting the weight stack slam back to rest between reps.
Common mistakes
- Pulling with the arms or shoulders instead of curling with the abs, which removes the load from the target muscle.
- Using a heavy stack and a tiny range of motion, which trains momentum rather than the abs.
- Letting the weight stack snap back at the top, killing the slow lowering where most growth tension lives.
- Setting the chest pad too high on the throat, which makes the lifter brace with the neck instead of the core.
