Crunches

[Dolphingirl]

At home, I do crunches every night, usually 200, in sets of 50. I do them at a moderate pace, and work to make sure that I am using my stomach, not anything else, and that I am building my stomach in, not out (does that make sense? That's what my teacher calls it) In our Jazz class, we start with crunches, but we do them very very quickly, in sets of 40. I feel like I don't get very much out of the very quick ones, because they are so fast. I always end up feeling like I'm just jerking my neck more than getting a real stomach workout, or I'm not able to concentrate on doing them correctly. Is there a benefit to doing them quickly that I'm missing? Or tips on how to do them quickly so that I don't hurt myself. This class is only once a week and I'm only taking it for one more week in the summer. I'll have a different teacher in the fall, who I've had for modern, and I imagine her classes will be different. But for now, I want to make the most out of everything I can get.

[Mel Johnson]

I know of no physiological or technical benefit to be gained from doing crunches at a fast tempo. It probably won't hurt you, but at the same time it won't do anything different from doing it at a moderate speed. Sounds more like a time-saver for the class to me. Two hundred isn't unrealistic for a daily regimen - what I don't approve of is doing literally thousands of them!

[Dolphingirl]

Two hundred seemed like a good number to work up to, and I've gotten there, and I can do it pretty easily. I don't think I could do thousands! I'm glad to know that there's not a particular reason to do them faster. Thanks!