Toe Touch Crunch How To Exercise Guide

Video Demonstration

This article will cover how you perform the Toe Touch Crunch exercise.

We will include video, image and a written step by step description on how to do this exercise.

Its difficulty level, the equipment you need to do it. The different muscle groups that get worked when you use this exercise.

The benefits you get when adding it to your training routine. Also, some different training cues to use when you are performing it.

Don't worry if you can not yet do the full range of motion. As time goes on and you continue using this lift your range of motion will increase along with the strength of your core.

Toe Touch Crunches How to Guide

Image Example

Step by Step Description

Step 1: Lay on the floor resting on your back.

Step 2: Keep your feet together and legs straight(or with only a very slight bend) and raise them off of the ground bending at your waist until your legs are straight in the air.

Step 3: Strech your arms and raise them, so the tips or your fingers are pointing up towards the ceiling.

Step 4: Tighten your abdominals and lift your head and shoulders off the ground while reaching your hands towards your feet and hold this position for one to two seconds.

(You can make this exercise an isometric one by keeping your body in this position for as long as you can)

Step 5: Slowly lower your body back to the ground. However, do not allow your body to rest on the ground completely, and remember to keep your core tight.

Congratulations you have now completed one repetition.

Difficulty Level

This lift gets rated at an intermediate difficulty level.

If you are just starting out with exercising your time would be better spent training your core with different planking methods before attempting this lift.

Equipment Required

Since this is a Calisthenics (body weight) exercise the only thing needed is your body.

You can use some equipment to help make this lift harder. Using a weighted clothing or weighted ankle cuffs is the perfect way to increase the amount of tension on your core.

Muscles Worked

The Primary muscles recruited when you do this exercise is your Abdominals and the Obliques.

Benefits of Toe Touch Crunches

Building a strong core is shown to reduce back pain and reduce your chances of a lower back injury in your daily routine.

Your Athletic performance gets increased for many different activities that require core strength (like tennis, soccer, boxing, football, any sport with rotational movement ).

• Alternate Exercises

• Standing Side Crunches
• Side Plank Crunches
• Rolling Side Plank
• Plank Knee to Elbow

In closing

The Toe Touch Crunch is a useful core exercise. Since you do not need any equipment, it is perfect for people who exercise at home or for days when you just can't make it to your local gym.

You can use this as a crunch exercise where you perform a set amount of repetitions. Alternatively, you can use this exercise as an isometric hold instead.

An Isometric exercise is when you place a muscle under consistent tensions without any movement (like planking). So when you raise your head and elbows off the ground and reach the top position, hold this position for as long as you can without your form breaking down.

Either way, you chose to use this lift, over time you need to keep increasing the difficulty of this exercise to continue seeing results. Either by using weighted cuffs/clothing, or increasing the amount of time, you are holding your head and shoulders off of the ground.

If you have never done this exercise before you should add it to your routine for at least a few months to see for yourself all the benefits it has to offer.