Skip to content
ascend.
Exercise guide

Cable Crunch

How to do the Cable Crunch with correct form, the muscles it works, and where it fits a training plan you actually stick to.

IsolationCableBeginnerPull
Primary muscles

Abs

Secondary

Equipment

Cable

Step by step

How to do the Cable Crunch

  1. 1

    Kneel below a high pulley that contains a rope attachment.

  2. 2

    Grasp cable rope attachment and lower the rope until your hands are placed next to your face.

  3. 3

    Flex your hips slightly and allow the weight to hyperextend the lower back. This will be your starting position.

  4. 4

    With the hips stationary, flex the waist as you contract the abs so that the elbows travel towards the middle of the thighs. Exhale as you perform this portion of the movement and hold the contraction for a second.

  5. 5

    Slowly return to the starting position as you inhale. Tip: Make sure that you keep constant tension on the abs throughout the movement. Also, do not choose a weight so heavy that the lower back handles the brunt of the work.

  6. 6

    Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

In Ascend

Log it, see it on your body.

Every Cable Crunch set you log feeds Ascend's anatomy heatmap — so your abs volume is visible at a glance — and counts toward your bodyweight-strength tier.

Related

More abs exercises

Ascend Club

The app is free. Club adds the coach, leagues and analytics.

Core tracking stays free forever — the climb, streaks, logging and your league tiers. Club is for when you want the full coach, worldwide competition and the depth, at about the price of one coffee a month.

See Club plans

14-day free trial · no card to start

 FreeClub
Tracking, the climb and streaks
Per-set logging, PR detection, wearables
Muscle-league tiers
The AI coachnudgesFull conversation
Worldwide leagues and challenges
PR projections and deep analytics
Unlimited crews
Themes, export and higher AI limits