What Are Some Ab Training Tips for When Crunches Stop Working

The Real Reason Your Crunches Aren't Working

For what are some ab training tips for when crunches stop working, the answer is to stop doing high-rep crunches and start training your abs with added resistance for 8-15 reps, just like any other muscle. You've probably done hundreds, maybe thousands of crunches, feeling the burn but seeing zero change in the mirror. It’s frustrating. You feel like you're putting in the work, but your stomach looks the same. The problem isn't your effort; it's the exercise. Crunches are a low-intensity movement that your body adapts to very quickly. After a few weeks, doing 50 or 100 crunches is an endurance exercise for your abs, not a strength-building one. It’s like trying to build a bigger chest by only doing sets of 100 pushups. At first, it’s hard. But soon, your body adapts, and the muscle stops growing. To build visible, dense abdominal muscles, you need to challenge them with progressive overload-gradually increasing the demand. Crunches have a very low ceiling for this. You can’t easily add weight, and just doing more reps leads to diminishing returns. The burn you feel is just metabolic fatigue, not the mechanical tension required to stimulate muscle growth.

Your abs are a muscle.

Track your ab workouts. Watch them get stronger.

The "Ab Muscle" Mistake 99% of People Make

Most people fail to see ab development because they treat their abdominals like a special, magical muscle group that defies the rules of physiology. They think abs respond to endless reps and “toning” exercises. This is the single biggest mistake. Your rectus abdominis (the “six-pack” muscle), obliques, and transverse abdominis are muscles. They grow from the same stimulus as your biceps, back, and legs: being subjected to progressively heavier loads in a moderate rep range. Think about the math. When a 180-pound person does a crunch, they are lifting their head and shoulders, which is maybe 40-50 pounds of their upper body weight. Your abs adapt to lifting that 50 pounds very quickly. Now, compare that to a cable crunch. You can start with a 50-pound weight stack and, over several months, progress to using 100 pounds, 120 pounds, or even more. That is a 100-140% increase in tension. That is what forces a muscle to grow. Furthermore, your core has three primary jobs: spinal flexion (bending forward, like a crunch), anti-extension (resisting arching your back, like a plank), and anti-rotation (resisting twisting, like a Pallof press). Crunches only train the first function, and they do it poorly. A truly strong core requires training all three functions with intensity.

You now understand the principle: treat your abs like a bicep. Add weight. Get stronger. But knowing this and actually applying it are two different things. Can you say for certain that your ab workout today was harder than the one you did 4 weeks ago? If you can't prove it with numbers, you're still just guessing.

Weeks of progress. All in one place.

Every ab workout logged. Proof you're getting stronger.

The 3-Move Ab Workout That Replaces Crunches

Stop doing endless, ineffective crunches and replace them with this three-move workout, performed 2-3 times per week with at least one day of rest in between. The goal is not to feel a burn for 30 minutes; the goal is to get stronger over time. Focus on perfect form and increasing the weight or difficulty each week.

Step 1: Spinal Flexion (The Better Crunch)

This movement targets the rectus abdominis, the primary “six-pack” muscle. Choose one of the following.

• Hanging Leg Raises: This is the gold standard. Start by hanging from a pull-up bar. Keeping your legs straight, raise them until they are parallel to the floor. Lower them under control. Aim for 3 sets of 8-15 reps. If this is too hard, start with Hanging Knee Raises, bending your knees and bringing them to your chest. Once you can do 3 sets of 15 perfect reps, add a 5-10 lb dumbbell between your feet.
• Cable Crunches: Kneel in front of a high-pulley cable machine with a rope attachment. Hold the rope on either side of your head. Keeping your hips stationary, crunch your chest down toward your pelvis, flexing your spine. Squeeze your abs hard at the bottom. Aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps. The last few reps should be a struggle. Increase the weight by 5 pounds when you can complete all sets.

Step 2: Anti-Extension (Core Stability)

This builds deep core strength that protects your spine and makes all your other lifts stronger.

• Weighted Planks: Get into a standard plank position on your forearms. Your body should be a straight line. The key is to create tension: squeeze your glutes and brace your abs as if you're about to be punched. Have a partner place a 10, 25, or even 45-pound plate on your lower back. Hold this for 3 sets of 45-60 seconds. Holding a bodyweight plank for 3 minutes is a waste of time; holding a weighted plank for 60 seconds builds real strength.

Step 3: Anti-Rotation (Rotational Power)

This targets your obliques and prevents injury by teaching your core to resist twisting forces.

• Pallof Press: Stand sideways to a cable machine with the handle set at chest height. Grab the handle with both hands and step away from the machine to create tension. With your feet shoulder-width apart and core braced, press the handle straight out in front of your chest. The cable will try to pull you back and rotate you; your job is to resist it. Hold for 2-3 seconds, then bring the handle back to your chest. That’s one rep. Perform 3 sets of 10-12 reps per side. The weight should be heavy enough that the last few reps are a serious challenge to control.

What to Expect (And Why You Won't See Abs in 2 Weeks)

Switching from high-rep crunches to heavy, low-rep ab training requires a mental shift and patience. Here is a realistic timeline.

• Week 1-2: You will be surprisingly weak at these new movements, and you will feel incredibly sore in your abs for 2-3 days after each workout. This is a good sign; it means you're finally creating the stimulus for growth. Focus 100% on perfect form, even if it means using very light weight or easier variations. Do not chase the burn.
• Month 1: The soreness will decrease as your body adapts. You will notice a significant increase in your core strength and stability. Your other big lifts, like squats and deadlifts, may feel stronger and more locked-in. You will not see a visible six-pack yet, but you might feel that your abs are harder to the touch.
• Month 2-3 and Beyond: You should be consistently adding weight or reps to all three movements every couple of weeks. Your abs will be physically thicker and denser. Now, the visibility of that new muscle comes down to one thing: body fat.

It is critical to understand this: Ab exercises build ab muscles. A calorie deficit reveals them. You can have the strongest, most developed abs in the world, but if they are covered by a layer of body fat, you will never see them. For men, abs typically start to become visible around 15% body fat. For women, this is closer to 22%. This routine will build the bricks, but your diet is what will clear away the plaster covering them.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Role of Diet in Seeing Abs

Visible abs are a direct result of low body fat, which is achieved through a consistent calorie deficit. You cannot spot-reduce fat from your stomach. This training plan builds the muscle, but your nutrition determines if it's seen. Aim for a body fat percentage of around 15% for men or 22% for women.

Training Abs Every Day

Do not train your abs every day. Just like your chest or back, your abdominal muscles need time to recover and rebuild after an intense workout. Training them with the intensity described above 2-3 times per week is optimal. More is not better; it's counterproductive.

Using Weights for Ab Training

Yes, using weights is critical for long-term progress. Once you can comfortably perform more than 15-20 reps of an ab exercise with perfect form, it's time to add resistance. This is the core principle of progressive overload that forces muscles to grow stronger and thicker.

Best Rep Range for Ab Growth

For building muscle size (hypertrophy), the 8-15 rep range is the sweet spot. This applies to your abs as well. If you can easily do more than 20 reps, the exercise is no longer challenging enough to stimulate growth. Increase the weight or choose a more difficult variation.

Dealing with Lower Back Pain During Ab Workouts

Lower back pain during ab exercises is a red flag that your form is incorrect or the exercise is too advanced for your current core strength. It often happens when your hip flexors take over and your back arches. Regress to an easier version and focus on bracing your core and maintaining a neutral or slightly tucked pelvis.