Machine crunch

How to do it

1. Sit in the ab machine and set the backrest and chest pad to your height.
2. Grip the handles or rest your forearms on the upper pads.
3. Curl your trunk, bringing your chest toward your pelvis by flexing the spine, not the hips.
4. Fully contract the abs at the shortest point of the range.
5. Return slowly to the start, resisting the load without arching your back.

Common mistakes

• Pulling with the arms instead of curling the abs
• Flexing the hips instead of the spine
• Returning abruptly without controlling the negative

Other variations

• Crunch
• Bicycle crunch
• Cable crunch