Crunches get a bad rap as being relatively useless and potentially dangerous, due to the very light resistance and the repeated spinal flexion.

This variation of the exercise, however, addresses the resistance portion of it. It also addresses the repeated spinal flexion portion because of HOW you'll be doing the exercise (flattening your lower back rather than flexing the spine dramatically).

Bottom line, though, RESISTANCE is what will give you those six-pack abs that POP rather than just sit flatly on your stomach.

The better developed your six-pack abs are (the rectus abdominis muscle), the sooner you'll see them as you lose the fat that covers the stomach.

To perform this one, you'll need a decline bench and a barbell (or a pair of dumbbells will work as well). I'm using the decline bench in the rack, but a regular decline bench setup is just fine, too. The movement itself will be exactly the same.

I'm using 135 lbs on the bar. Take a shoulder-width grip on the bar, unrack it then hold it locked out.

Now just push the bar up towards the ceiling. This strongly activates the rectus abdominis muscle, the function of which is to bring the lower rib cage towards the pelvis, shortening the muscle. This setup loads that exact function with direct resistance.

When performing it, the goal is to simply flatten the lower back into the bench. The range of motion is only a few inches.

This is a very small degree of spinal flexion and, because you're using resistance, you're not doing it for very many reps (certainly not hundreds).

In addition, because your lower legs are anchored and your body is on a decline, I find you actually get some good traction on the spine as you're performing the exercise.

If you don't have a decline bench, you can perform this on a flat bench as well, though I found it's not quite as effective. If you can, set a plate or small riser under one end of the flat bench to get a small decline.

Bottom line, if you're looking a good resistance-based exercise for improving your six-pack abs, try this one. It's very effective and very easy to setup and perform.

Here's the video of the exercise in action.

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Want More Killer Core Exercises Like This?

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Nick Nilsson
The Mad Scientist of Muscle

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