Correct abs crunches
I saw a lot of misinformed people at the gym, doing hundreds and hundreds of ab crunches. But unfortunately for them they were working every other muscle except for the abs. And besides the fact they are not properly training their ab muscles they are also solicitating the spine by putting unnecessary pressure on the neck and leaning their head forward.
Do not put pressure on your neck when working your abs
Please remember that the exercise is about working the abs and not the neck muscles. When you do a crunch try to keep your neck still and looking almost parallel with your body. Do not make the crunch leading with your head but with your shoulders. Also what you do with your hands is important when you make a crunch. A lot of people put their hand behind their head when they do crunches, which is not a bad thing. It becomes a bad thing when they press their neck and head with their hands, like trying to move the body forward. That is not the way to do it. Hands are held behind the neck just for reference, they play no active role in the exercise.
Incorrect movement when doing abs crunches
The biggest mistake when making crunches that a lot of people do is making a long move, thus putting imense pressure on your back. you should make crunches with just a short lift, lifting your upper body from the ground at a maximum angle of 20-30 degrees maximum with the ground. If you lift your upper body more than that you are putting pressure on your lower spine and that will result in back pains. The lift should be done just to make the muscles get tight, not higher than that.
Good luck.
