If you can power through endless conventional crunches in a single sitting, it’s time to level up your ab workouts. If you want your lower abs to pop and build V-lines, you need to target your deeper abdominal muscles by adding resistance and slowing things down. 

Crunches lack accountability. Form may be picture perfect for the first few reps, but it often falters as you go, letting momentum steal most of the muscle-building benefits. Plus, it’s the same move, over and over. It’s a dreadfully boring way to make very little impact on your physique.

Why It Works 

The reverse crunch, or rather the reverse banded crunch, is different. Adding resistance forces you to work for every rep, and changing up the movement pattern emphasizes different muscles.

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“In traditional crunches, the top of the abdominals leads, so the most tension is created there,” says Brandon Mentore, a Philadelphia-based strength and conditioning coach. “The reverse crunch approaches the muscles from the other direction, so tension is greatest at the bottom.”

You can do this crunch variation at home or in the gym, but there are a few things you need to ensure for success—namely a secure anchor point.

How to Do a Reverse Banded Crunch

1. To set up, attach a light resistance band to a rig or pole at shin height. 
2. Sit on the floor facing the attachment point, knees bent, the free end of the band across thighs.
3. Scooch back until the band is taut, then lie back and grasp a heavy kettlebell behind your head to anchor the upper body. 
4. Draw your belly in, lift your low back off the floor, and roll hips and knees toward shoulders, then reverse back down. Keep your knees bent throughout the movement. That’s 1 rep.
5. Do 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps.

When this gets easy, grab a heavier band. After all, you’re accountable only to yourself.

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Don’t power the movement with your legs, using momentum to get off the ground. You want to initiate the crunch with your core, not your hip flexors. 
2. Don’t lower your feet completely to the floor, as this will create too much of an arch in your low back and increase the risk for injury.  
3. Don’t go for speed and reps. Control the descent taking 2 to 3 seconds on the lowering phase. 
4. Don’t hold your breath. Exhale as you crunch up.

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