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Exercise library · Abs

Cable crunch

Trunk flexion for the abs on a cable.

How to do it

1 of 3

Kneel with the rope by your head

  1. Starting position

    Kneel facing the cable and hold the rope ends beside your head with your hips still.

  2. The movement

    Round your back and bring your chest toward your hips, then return slowly to the start.

Most common mistake

Don't hinge only at your hips, keep them still and round your back with your abs.

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Muscle group
Abs
Equipment
Cable
Where
Gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

The cable crunch mainly trains the rectus abdominis, the muscle that curls your spine and brings your ribcage towards your pelvis. The obliques on your sides help. The advantage over floor crunches is that you can add weight in small steps, so your abs can be trained the same way as other muscles. Turning your upper body slightly to one side at the end of the movement, elbow towards the opposite knee, gives the obliques more to do.

Common mistakes

  • Your arms pull the weight. It is easy to pull the rope down with your arms and shoulders. Keep your hands fixed beside your head for the whole set, so your arms move with your upper body rather than on their own.
  • Pulling with your neck. If you just nod your head, the movement stays small and your neck does the work. Keep your head in line with your back and think ribs towards pelvis, not chin towards chest.
  • Holding your breath through the rep. Breathe out as you curl down and in as you come back up. A full breath out at the bottom helps many people curl a little further.

Variations and alternatives

  • The machine crunch has a fixed path and is easier to learn, as the machine guides the movement.
  • Crunches train the same muscle on the floor at home, with no weight.
  • The backpack crunch adds load at home once ordinary crunches feel too easy.
  • The hanging leg raise is a harder option where you lift your legs and roll your pelvis towards your chest instead.

Sets and reps

Your abs can be trained like other muscles, with a weight that makes the set hard within a sensible number of reps. Many people do 2 to 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps, and 15 to 20 works with a lighter weight. Choose a weight that lets you curl all the way down on every rep, and rest one to two minutes between sets. Put the exercise near the end of your session, so your abs are not tired when they need to brace your trunk in the heavy lifts. The guide to sets and reps explains how to choose.

Add reps until you reach the top of the range in every set, then go up one step in weight. That is progressive overload, just as for other muscles.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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