Are crunches effective or are you wasting time?
Our belly is in 90 % the part of our body on which we all want to work on. Thus many times we end up in a routine of huge sets of sit-ups and crunches. And that is when the question arises: “Are crunches effective?” Simple answer: Crunches are not the best way and certainly not the only way to lose your gut. However, they are an important exercise, if you want to strengthen your abs.
You are what you eat
Our abs are generally underneath that excess belly fat, therefore overly intense ab training might even lead to the feeling of a bigger belly. The number one thing to shrink your belly fat is to exercise regularly and watch your diet. Reconsider your intake of alcohol, large amounts of sugar or how many cheat meals you have in a week. With increased fitness training, your body demands more calories, thus you might have added meals without directly noticing. Use a meal plan as a guide for your own personal diet which is based on your goals. Besides your diet you should add High Intensity Training to your workouts so you get into fat burning mode.
Keep crunches in your workout but switch them with core strengthening exercises like planks or boat position. As with any other workout try to avoid doing the same exercises over and over, but try to do different variations with every workout. Maybe you can try using a stability ball, resistance bands or kettle bell to change your movements and thus the muscle activity.
What does this mean for you?
Even if you are confident in answering the question are crunches effective and you’ve got a good exercise routine it can help to get some new ideas for your workout and especially to lose that belly-fat. Try a local boot camp or workout group. Sometimes we tend to put our limits to low and to have a personal trainer take care of your goal specific workout program design may just be what you need to shrink your belly for good. If you’ve still got questions meet with a personal trainer and request a trial session.
Top Photo: OSO Hormiguero / iWoman
