How to do Crunches for Calisthenics Exercise

Video Transcript

"The next exercise I am going to demonstrate for you is called an abdominal crunch. I am going to tell you the form first and then I will demonstrate a couple for you. You want to make sure that your feet remain flat on the floor. Your navel stays pulled toward your spine; your hands are going to come behind your head making sure your elbows stay out to the side. You never want to pull your elbows in because you don’t want to risk pulling your neck. You are going to find something to look at on the ceiling so that you can prevent bringing your chin towards your chest and with the abdominals; you are going to crunch forward trying to bring those shoulder blades off of the mat. I’ll go ahead and demonstrate a couple for you. Go ahead and lie flat on your mat. Feet are flat, hands behind your head, neutral alignment in your spine. Navel pulled toward your spine, elbows back; inhale before you start and exhale as you lift. Inhale, don’t let your head touch the floor, come half-way down and exhale lift. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. "