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Abs

Cable Crunch

The Cable Crunch is a strength exercise on a cable machine for your abs. Share of the load in the Zulta muscle model: upper abs 46%, lower abs 30% and obliques 20%.

Also known as: cable crunch kneeling, kneeling bar cable crunch, kneeling rope cable crunch

Level: BeginnerEquipment: CableSingle-joint (isolation)
Cable Crunch demonstration

How to do it

  1. Set a pulley at the highest position and attach a rope.
  2. Kneel facing the machine, about one step away, and hold the rope ends beside your head.
  3. Sit the hips back slightly and keep them still for the whole set.
  4. Curl the torso down, bringing the elbows toward the thighs by rounding the spine.
  5. Pause at the bottom, then uncurl slowly to the start.

Tips

  • Keep the hands fixed next to the head, the arms do not pull.
  • Breathe out fully as you crunch down.

Common mistakes

  • Sitting the hips back toward the heels so it becomes a hip hinge.
  • Pulling the rope down with the arms.
  • Keeping the back flat instead of rounding it.

Muscles worked by the Cable Crunch

  • Upper abs Primary46%
  • Lower abs Primary30%
  • Obliques Secondary20%
  • Hip flexors Stabilizer4%

Share per muscle in the Zulta muscle model. The model spreads the load of one rep over 40 muscles, based on EMG and biomechanics research.

Curling the ribcage toward the pelvis is spinal flexion by rectus abdominis, with the obliques assisting; a full sit up adds the hip flexors.

Cable Crunch alternatives

Same equipment

Different equipment

No equipment

Make it harder

Similar exercises

Frequently asked questions

What muscles does the Cable Crunch work?

Mainly the upper abs and lower abs. The obliques assist.

Is the Cable Crunch good for beginners?

Yes. The Cable Crunch is rated beginner in the Zulta library: the technique is easy to learn with a light weight.

What is a good alternative to the Cable Crunch?

For example the Ab Crunch Machine, Seated Ab Machine and Weighted Crunch. They train mostly the same muscles, some with different equipment.

How do you make the Cable Crunch harder?

Add weight or reps, or move on to the Cable Crunch Standing and Seated Cable Crunch.

Sources

  • Escamilla et al. 2006, Phys Ther 86(5):656-671 (traditional and nontraditional abdominal exercises)

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