Difficult Crunches With The Arms Extended

Change your arm position during an abdominal crunch and you change the intensity of the exercise. Use a crunch, also known as a situp, to strengthen the muscles of your stomach. Usually, a crunch refers to the exercise in which you lift your torso halfway off the floor and a situp refers to the exercise in which your torso finishes in an upright position. The American Council on Exercise uses the terms interchangeably.

Arm Progression

When you first learn a crunch, your arms are crossed over your chest. As your strength improves, you place your hands behind your head with your elbows pointing out to the sides. As you continue to improve, straighten your arms over your head so you extend the length of your torso. This increase in length requires more force from your abdominal muscles to lift your torso off the ground.

Crunch

Use the overhead position during a traditional floor crunch. Lie face up on the floor. Bend your knees and place your feet on the floor. Extend your straight arms over your head and rest the backs of your hands on the floor, if possible. Exhale and raise your arms, shoulders, upper and middle back and head off the floor as you contract your abdominal muscles. Inhale and slowly lower your arms, shoulders, back and head to start position.

Teaser

The Pilates teaser uses an overhead arm position, and when you hold onto a stability ball, you increase the challenge of this intense abdominal exercise. Lie on your back. Straighten your legs and lift them toward the ceiling just short of creating a 90-degree angle in your hips. Hold a stability ball between your hands and extend your arms over your head. Exhale and lift the ball off the floor as you sit up until you are balancing on your sit bones. Reach forward with the ball toward your feet. Inhale and slowly return to start position as you lower one vertebra at a time onto the floor.

Stability Ball

Use a stability ball for your abdominal crunch to further increase the challenge to your stomach muscles. Sit on top of an exercise ball. Walk your feet forward, away from the ball, as you place your back onto the ball. Stop when the ball is positioned near your lower back and your middle back and shoulder blades are in contact with the ball. Keep your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Widen the space between your knees to enhance your balance. Extend your arms straight out over your head. Keep your arms close to your head as you exhale and sit upright on top of the ball. Inhale and slowly lower your torso and arms to start position.