It’s hard to believe that one body part could cause so much distress for so many people but the reality is that endless crunches are ineffective if your quest is for six-pack abdominals. In most cases, our body fat ends up obscuring and covering up our abdominal muscles. So when we perform abdominal exercises like crunches, we are more so strengthening our midsection as opposed to ‘trimming’ fat off it.

To be quite honest, I dislike crunches. In my experience, I find that most people perform them in such a way that they end up doing more harm to their bodies than good. Mainly because crunches compress and stress the spinal column and in turn, tend to hurt the lower back. Have you ever wondered why your back sometimes hurts after performing crunches? Crunches have also been known to create strain and stress on the neck or cervical spine if the head is not kept in a neutral position throughout the movement.

Remember, we can’t target fat burn. For instance, if you have a lot of fat deposits in one area of your body, spot training that one body part won’t reduce the fat. Instead, focus on working your entire body rather than trying to break it down into pieces and parts. Our bodies function as a whole, as such you want to train the body as a system or more holistically.

Ultimately–making sustained changes to our bodies involves a multitude of factors reaching far beyond nutrition and physical training.

***Are looking to optimize your life through physical and mental training practices? Send me a message!

@repetitions_fitness, repetitionsfitness.ca or repetitionsfitnessstudio@gmail.com