The cable kneeling crunch is an abdominal exercise performed using a cable machine with a rope attachment. It targets the abs and also engages the obliques. The movement involves kneeling, holding the rope behind the head, and crunching the torso down towards the thighs.
Also Works
Obliques
How to Perform
1
Attach a rope handle to a high pulley and kneel down facing away from the machine.
2
Hold the rope handle with both hands and place it behind your head, keeping your elbows out to the sides.
3
Keeping your hips stationary, flex your waist and crunch your torso down towards your thighs.
4
Pause for a moment at the bottom, then slowly return to the starting position.
5
Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Pro Tips
•Curl your spine by thinking about bringing your rib cage toward your pelvis. Do not just hinge at the hips, which turns it into a hip flexor exercise.
•Keep the rope behind your head in a fixed position throughout the rep. Your hands should not move relative to your head.
•Exhale forcefully as you crunch down to maximize rectus abdominis contraction.
Common Mistakes
•Sitting back onto the heels during the crunch, which uses the hip flexors and body weight to pull the cable rather than the abs.
•Pulling with the arms by moving the rope away from the head, which turns this into a Pullover instead of a crunch.
•Using too much weight and only achieving a small range of motion rather than fully curling the spine.