Ab crunch machine

How to move

1. Set the seat so the machine's pivot sits level with the middle of your trunk, set a light weight, and sit with your back against the pad, your feet or shins hooked under the leg rollers.
2. Take the handles above your shoulders with your upper arms resting on the pads and your elbows bent to about a right angle.
3. Breathe out and curl your ribs down towards your hips in a slow, steady pull, letting your knees rise if the leg pads move with you.
4. Pause for a second, then let the weight take you back upright over 2 to 3 seconds without the stack touching down.

Form cues

• Curl the spine; don't just pull with the arms.
• Keep the legs relaxed and let the abdominals do the work.
• Avoid: heaving a heavy stack with a jerk.

Practice and cautions

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, stopping with 2 or 3 reps in reserve (our editorial starting point).

The seated position and hooked feet bring in the hip flexors more than a floor or ball crunch: if your low back complains, choose a crunch on a ball instead. Never add plates or dumbbells to the stack, as makers warn; use the next pin instead. This loads the spine while it is rounded: leave it out with osteoporosis or a past spinal fracture. With a stoma or after abdominal surgery (including gallbladder or appendix removal, a hernia repair, hysterectomy, caesarean, weight-loss surgery or a kidney or liver transplant), this is an advanced core exercise: work up through easier core levels first, and stop if you notice doming or bulging around your stoma or scar. It may not suit everyone. This is movement education, not an assessment or treatment prescription. Stop for sharp or increasing pain, dizziness, numbness or tingling; seek individual guidance for symptoms, injury or restrictions.