Negative Crunches Guide: Eccentric Core Training

Learn how to perform negative crunches with perfect form to increase abdominal tension and improve core stability through eccentric movement.

How to Perform

  1. Sit on the floor with your knees bent at a 45-degree angle and your feet flat on the ground.
  2. Extend your arms straight out in front of you or cross them over your chest to set your starting position.
  3. Engage your core and begin to lean backward at a very slow, controlled pace.
  4. Focus on articulating through your spine, feeling each vertebra approach the floor one by one.
  5. Continue the descent until your shoulder blades lightly touch the mat, maintaining constant tension in the abdominals.
  6. Use your hands to assist yourself back to the starting upright position to avoid concentric strain.
  7. Reset your posture and repeat the movement for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping the torso quickly during the final few inches of the descent.
  • Arching the lower back away from the floor instead of maintaining a slight curve.
  • Holding your breath rather than exhaling during the downward phase.
  • Lifting the feet off the ground to compensate for lack of core strength.

Muscles Worked

Primary movers

  • Abs

Stabilizers

  • Obliques
  • Hip Flexors
  • Transverse Abdominis

Related Guides

Abs · Core