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Straight Hand Crunches

Straight-hand crunches are performed with the arms extended vertically over the chest, reaching the fingertips toward the ceiling as the shoulder blades peel off the floor. Maddy uses them to teach a strict, short-range crunch where the abs — not the neck or arms — create every centimetre. Coached by Maddy (NASM-CPT) — these are the exact form cues he gives on every client's first week.

Muscles worked

Abs · rectus abdominis Obliques

Sets & reps by goal

GoalSets × RepsRest
Strength3 × 6 reps with a 2-s hold at the top90 s
Muscle3 × 9-12 reps60 s
Endurance2-3 × 18-27 reps30-45 s

Level — Beginner

Beginner; the range is deliberately small, which is a feature — not a sign you are doing it wrong.

Proper form — 5 cues

  1. Lie with knees bent, feet flat, and arms pointing straight at the ceiling.
  2. Exhale and reach the fingertips toward the ceiling as the shoulder blades lift.
  3. Send the reach upward, not forward toward the knees.
  4. Keep a fist of space under your chin the entire set.
  5. Lower until the shoulder blades kiss the floor, then rise again without resting.

Breathing: Exhale fully on the way up to deepen the contraction, inhale as the shoulder blades lower.

The 3 mistakes Maddy corrects most

Swinging the arms forward to generate lift.. Arm throw creates momentum that the abs should have produced, cutting the actual work per rep. Fix: Keep the arms aimed at the ceiling like antennae — they rise because the ribcage rises, nothing else.
Pulling the chin to the chest as you crunch.. Neck flexion adds fake range, strains the neck, and convinces you the set was harder than it was. Fix: Fix your eyes on a ceiling point directly above and keep them there for the whole set.
Trying to sit all the way up.. Past shoulder-blade height the hip flexors take over, and the abs simply hold on for the ride. Fix: Treat shoulder blades clearing the floor as full range — small, strict, and repeated is the design.

Common questions

Why keep the arms straight up instead of behind the head?

Two reasons. Vertical arms remove the temptation to yank the neck, which is the most common crunch fault, and the upward reach gives you a precise external target — fingertips to ceiling — that keeps every rep the same height. Arms behind the head actually makes the crunch harder by lengthening the lever, so that is a progression, not the default.

Are straight-hand crunches enough for abs on their own?

They cover trunk flexion well, but a complete core programme also needs anti-extension work like planks, rotation or anti-rotation work like windmills or side planks, and lower-ab-biased moves like reverse crunches or leg raises. Maddy typically pairs straight-hand crunches with one hold and one rotational drill inside the same block so the trunk is trained in every direction it resists and creates force.

How do I make straight-hand crunches harder without weights?

Add a two-second pause at the top with an extra exhale to squeeze deeper, slow the lowering to three seconds, or extend the arms overhead beside the ears to lengthen the lever. Any one of those turns a set of twelve into a genuinely hard set. Stacking all three is usually harder than adding a small weight plate to the hands.

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