Open Exercise

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Catalogue

Decline Crunch

oec:decline-crunch

An abdominal isolation exercise performed on a decline bench where the torso curls upward against gravity through spinal flexion.

Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.

Also called: Incline Crunch, Decline Bench Crunch, Slant Board Crunch, Decline Ab Crunch, Incline Crunches, Negative Crunches

How to do it

Setup

  1. Secure your legs and ankles under the padded rollers at the elevated end of a decline bench.
  2. Lie back on the bench so your head is positioned lower than your hips.
  3. Place your hands lightly beside your ears or cross your arms over your chest without interlocking your fingers behind your head.

Movement

  1. Engage your abdominals and tuck your chin slightly toward your chest.
  2. Curl your upper torso off the bench by flexing your spine and drawing your ribcage down toward your pelvis.
  3. Pause and squeeze your abdominals hard at the peak of the contraction when your shoulder blades clear the bench.
  4. Slowly uncurl your spine under control to lower your torso back down to the starting position.

Breathing

Exhale forcefully as you curl upward against gravity; inhale as you slowly lower your torso back down.

Cues

  • Ribs to hips
  • Roll up like a carpet
  • Do not yank your neck

Common faults

Pulling on the head and neck with the hands.
Cross arms over the chest or place fingertips lightly by your ears without pulling forward.
Performing a full sit-up by pivoting at the hips rather than curling the spine.
Keep your lower back in contact with the pad and focus purely on flexing your spine to lift your shoulder blades.
Relying on momentum and bouncing off the bench at the bottom.
Maintain continuous abdominal tension throughout and control the descent fully.

Safety

  • Ensure your legs are securely locked into the ankle pads before leaning back into the decline position.

Muscles

  • Rectus abdominis prime mover
  • Obliques synergist
  • Iliopsoas stabilizer
  • Rectus femoris stabilizer
  • Transversus abdominis stabilizer

Joints

  • Thoracic spine: Flexion
  • Lumbar spine: Flexion
  • Hip: Isometric stabilization

Details

Movement
Spinal flexion
Modality
Calisthenics, Hypertrophy, Strength
Mechanics
isolation
Force
pull
Laterality
bilateral
Kinetic chain
open
Level
beginner
Equipment
Adjustable bench or Flat bench
Record
Repetitions
Load
bodyweight

Related

Sources

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

decline-crunch.json