Exercise of the Month: Crunches

Performing crunches are great for strengthening your abdominal muscles; plus, you don't need any equipment.  You do not have to perform an enormous amount to improve your strength.  Make crunches a part of your everyday routine, eat sensibly, work on cardiovascular fitness, and you're on you way to that "six-pack" you've always dreamed about.

1. Lie down with your back flat to the floor.

2. Elevate your feet so your knees are at a 90-degree angle to your body. It may be easier to rest your feet on a chair, or keep them on the floor and just bend your knees.

3. Cross your hands in front of your chest. For more advanced crunches, put your hands behind your head, but with the fingertips lightly touching the head, not clasping the head or neck.

4. Make sure there is a fist's worth of space between your chin and chest.

5. Draw your belly button in to the base of your spine.

6. Sit up until your elbows or chest reach your knees. Be careful to use abdominal rather than back, leg or neck muscles.

7. Exhale as you sit up. Inhale as you lie down.

8. Do two or three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions each. Stretch between sets.