Abs
Toe Touch Crunch
The Toe Touch Crunch is a strength exercise with no equipment for your abs. Share of the load in the Zulta muscle model: upper abs 45%, lower abs 31% and obliques 20%.
How to do it
- Lie on your back on a mat and raise the legs straight up toward the ceiling.
- Reach both arms up toward the feet.
- Curl the head and shoulders off the floor, reaching the fingertips toward the toes.
- Pause at the top with the legs still vertical.
- Lower the shoulders slowly back to the floor, arms still reaching up.
Tips
- Keep the legs still and vertical, only the upper body moves.
- Reach up, not forward, so the shoulders lift straight off the floor.
Common mistakes
- Swinging the legs toward the head to meet the hands.
- Pulling the chin into the chest.
- Letting the legs drift down toward the floor.
Muscles worked by the Toe Touch Crunch
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.
Variants that lengthen the lever. Curling the ribcage toward the pelvis is spinal flexion by rectus abdominis, with the obliques assisting; a full sit up adds the hip flexors.
Toe Touch Crunch alternatives
Same equipment
Different equipment
Make it harder
Similar exercises
Frequently asked questions
What muscles does the Toe Touch Crunch work?
Mainly the upper abs and lower abs. The obliques assist.
Is the Toe Touch Crunch good for beginners?
Yes. The Toe Touch 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 Toe Touch Crunch?
For example the Ab Crunch Machine, Cable Crunch and Cable Crunch Standing. They train mostly the same muscles, some with different equipment.
How do you make the Toe Touch 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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