Cable Crunch

The cable crunch is a kneeling abdominal exercise done on a cable machine. It trains your abdominals by flexing your spine - pulling your ribs down toward your pelvis - under a load that you can adjust.

Set the cable high and attach a rope. Kneel on the floor facing the machine. Grab one end of the rope in each hand and hold the rope beside your ears. Keep your hips back and your torso fairly upright to start.

Brace your midsection. Crunch your torso straight down by rounding your upper back and pulling your ribs toward your pelvis. Your hips should stay still - the movement comes from your spine, not from sitting back. Reverse under control and return to the start.

Exhale as you crunch down and inhale as you come up. To make it easier, use less weight or shorten the range slightly. To make it harder, add a small pause at the bottom of each rep.

Fault: Pulling the rope down with your arms. Fix: Keep the rope beside your ears and your arms locked in place - move only your spine.

Fault: Bending at the hips or sitting back on your heels. Fix: Lock your hips in place and focus on flexing your spine: ribs to pelvis.

Fault: Swinging or using momentum to get through the rep. Fix: Slow the movement down and control both the down and the up.