The crunch-clapping exercise is exactly what its name implies: you perform a crunch and a clap together while intensely engaging your ab muscles. It's a twist on the standard crunch exercise, but it increases engagement and range of motion compared to other crunch variations.
You can do this exercise almost anywhere, although I recommend one of the best yoga mats for your back since you'll be lying on the floor. You can do them in a variety of ways, but the most popular starting positions are sitting in a V-sit or lying on your back; you'll then lift your legs off the floor, circle them, and clap your hands together while you squeeze your stomach.
Here are the benefits of crunch claps for building powerful abs and why you might consider adding them to your ab workouts.
What is a crunch clap?
As mentioned earlier, crunch claps involve bringing your hands together around the back of your legs while you perform a crunch from a seated or lying position. The abdominal exercise strengthens your core muscles and primarily targets your six-pack abs – the rectus abdominis.
What is the difference between a crunch and a sit-up?
Sit-ups use a greater range of motion because you use your abdominal muscles to pull your torso up into a seated position.
During sit-ups, you'll go from a lying position to a fully seated position, so while the exercise heavily engages your abs (the muscles active during spinal flexion), you'll also activate a few other muscle groups, including your hip flexors, internal and external obliques, and the deeper abdominal muscles known as the transverse abdominis.
Crunches are more of an isolation exercise using a shorter range of motion, meaning you are only lifting your upper back off the ground, so the main focus will be on your abs as you flex and extend. The greater the range of motion, the more you are engaging your hip flexors and the greater the demands on your lower back.
Try to include a range of core exercises in your workouts to target different muscle groups and develop a strong, balanced core; the easiest way to achieve this is to consider exercises that work across different planes of motion, including rotation, flexion, extension and lateral movements.
In yoga, mandala sequencing can help harness this concept, where you'll move across the mat in a circle, but in functional training and sports it's more widely known as multidirectional movement.
For those who suffer from spinal disc or lower back pain or injuries, sit-ups and crunches may be a no-no altogether. It's important to work with a healthcare professional, rehabilitation specialist, or personal trainer if you're unsure about which ab exercises will work best for your body.
How to do foot claps
There are several ways you can approach ab exercises. Here's how:
- Begin lying on your back with your lower back gently pressed into the mat
- Prepare your stomach,
- Lift your shoulder blades off the floor, then extend your arms forward.
- At the same time, pull one leg towards you, then clap your hands behind the leg
- Return to the starting position, then repeat on the other side
- Keep your gaze straight ahead and your neck neutral as you move.
If you prefer, keep both legs raised to 90 degrees, then grab and tap between one or both legs without dropping your legs. If this feels too easy, try extending your legs. Another variation you can try is starting from a seated position similar to a V-sit.
During this variation, sit with your legs straight and lift them off the floor. Lean back slightly and tighten your stomach, then bend and lift one leg toward you, kick behind the leg, and extend the leg again, moving between your left and right sides. This variation relies more on the hip flexors and deep core muscles for stabilization and to help lift the leg as you move.
If you're considering trying crunch claps, this exercise may help you build muscular endurance, which is your ability to sustain an effort. A strong, resilient core will help you with sports like running, weightlifting, soccer, and other forms of movement, including yoga and Pilates.
In fact, a study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness concluded that small doses of “intensive training,” as little as one day per week, could increase endurance in untrained people.
Not sure how to add the hand clapping exercise to your routine? Check out some of these exercises below.
Watch on