Chris:
I have always had a problem isolating my abs. I can literally do hundreds of crunches without ever feeling as if my stomach had a good workout. Don’t get me wrong; I get tired, but I just don’t feel the burn that I am supposed to. I must be doing something wrong. What is your best advice for performing this exercise correctly? - Phil

Phil:
Whenever someone tells me they can do hundreds of crunches without getting a burn, my reply is usually, “Try doing 30 my way, and we’ll see how many you can really do.” Remember: When it comes to getting a killer ab workout, it’s all about quality - not quantity. Make each rep count, and don’t worry about numbers. Here are a few tips to help correct your form:

Keep the tension
A common mistake people make when doing crunches is violently moving their body up and down, using momentum to complete each rep. It’s no wonder they can do a couple of hundred crunches. Why waste your time if you’re going to do them incorrectly? The proper way to perform a crunch is to do each rep very slowly, pausing at the top and bottom of the movement. I like to tell my clients to pretend there is broken glass underneath their backs, so they never actually touch the floor. This technique keeps your abs under constant tension. Trust me: This will cause a burn in a hurry, and you won’t need to do a hundred reps to feel it.

Don’t pull on your neck
A lot of people like to lock both hands behind their heads when crunching, which allows them to lift half of their body weight with their arms instead of their abs.

A much better technique is to lightly touch your ears with your fingertips and lock your elbows in place, pointing toward your knees.

Crunch up slowly, using abs only, and the exercise will automatically become twice as intense.

Don’t hold your breath
Try breathing out at the top of the movement. This technique will help you get a much better range of motion and cause a more intense burn.

If you hold your breath at the top of the crunch, you will limit your range of motion, and you will actually be doing a half crunch instead of a full one.

Crunch as part of an ab cycle
When working abs, it makes more sense to do several exercises in a row to cause a more intense burn.

For example, try coupling crunches, leg raises and bicycle crunches together. Do one set of each exercise back to back, without any rest.

When you have finished, count to 50 seconds and start again. Perform two to three sets of 25 to 30 reps, and I’ll bet you’ll find that crunches can be a lot more difficult.