Many people think that building abdominal muscles is a difficult thing and requires a lot of determination, yes it may be so, but targeting the abdominal muscles in different ways is fun and good for the abdominal muscles and more challenging.
The cable may be effective in building abdominal muscles, but there are not many variables that you can rely on, but there are alternatives that may be more effective than cable exercises if what you want is to build tight and strong abdominal muscles.
The cable crunch alternatives in this post will help you target the abdominal muscles more and will work to tighten your stomach, chase fat, build muscle and build muscle strength.
Let’s continue together!
What is cable crunch?
Cable crunch exercises are an alternative to abdominal muscle exercises, as the cable allows to put more pressure on the abdominal muscles and works to strengthen and target them strongly. It is the best alternative to the abdominal muscle machine, but it is also done on the ropes machine.
But today our topic will not be on cable crunch exercises, as we will mention the most powerful alternatives that you can rely on in order to get strong and attractive abdominal muscles, these exercises can also be done at home and do not require much equipment.
What are the best alternatives for cable crunch at home?
There are many cable crunch alternatives to target your abdominal muscles during long workout sessions.
You will need some equipment such as: band, dumbbells, yoga mat, ab roller and you are all set.
Cable crunch alternatives with dumbbells
- Dumbbell crunch
- Dumbbell straight arm crunch
- Russian twist dumbbell
- Straight arm twisting crunches
- V-up dumbbell
Cable crunch alternatives with band
- Resistance band heel tap
- Bicycle crunch with bands
- Crunches band
- Reverse crunch with band
- Lying scissors with band
Best Cable crunch alternatives with bodyweight
- Leg raises
- Crucifix
- Russian twists
- Star crunches
- Reach ups
What are the benefits of training your abs with many alternatives?
Many alternatives allow you to target the abdominal muscles in various ways, and create greater challenges and target each muscle in the abdomen and work to fatigue and tighten it well.
Relying on one type of exercise may not give good results, because the muscle will get used to that type of exercise, and therefore the benefits of the exercise will be negatively reflected on the targeted abdominal muscles.
Best 15 cable crunch alternatives to try at home or gym
Here are the best exercises for the abdominal muscles that may be the best alternatives to
cable crunch exercises. These exercises can be done at home or the gym.
They also do not require much equipment.
You will only need dumbbells, a band, and your bodyweight of course.. It is good to add some weights to your ab training program because weights are effective in building strength and fatigue the muscles more.
1- Dumbbell Crunch
The crunch exercise alone, based on body weight, is very effective in targeting the muscles, but when we add dumbbells, the challenge becomes stronger, and this increases the intensity of targeting the muscles and fatigue and working to strengthen them as well.
How to do it correctly:
- Lay on your back.
- Lift your knees, keep your feet on the ground.
- Place the dumbbell over your chest and hold it with both hands.
- Then start pushing the shoulders and chest up.
Pro tip:
Choose a light weight that you can handle easily, try not to raise youe whole upper part of the body, focus only on raising your shoulders and chest, keep the speed of repetitions medium, and press your abdominal muscles well, then try to breathe well.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Upper abs
- Lower abs
- Secondary: Obliques, Transverse Abdominis.
2- Dumbbell Straight Arm Crunch
This exercise gives you a greater scope to target the abdominal muscles so that it is more challenging and puts more pressure on the abdominal muscles and targets them correctly.
How to do it correctly:
- Like the previous exercise, stay in the same position.
- Hold a dumbbell with both hands, keeping your arms straight up.
- Use your shoulder and chest muscles and push the weight with your hands straight up.
- Don’t bend your hands and don’t let your head touch the ground when going back down.
Pro tip:
Keep your arms straight all the time, don’t allow your abdominal muscles to rest, keep them engaged throughout the exercise, choose a lightweight and you will be ready to do it.
training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3
- How many times a week: 3 times
Target muscles:
- Upper abs
- Lower abs
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout
- Secondary: Obliques, Transverse Abdominis.
3- Russian Twists With Dumbbells
Russian Twist is one of the best exercises that works to completely target the abdominal area, and not only this, but even the front thigh muscles are targeted by this exercise, and dumbbells add a greater and effective challenge in order to tire the abdominal muscles well and obtain effective results.
How to do it correctly:
- Choose a sitting position so that your body is more balanced and stable.
- Rely on the muscles of the buttocks in order to maintain the balance of your body.
- Hold the dumbbells in your hands, keeping them at arm’s length away from your chest. (Bend your elbows at a right angle and keep them at a fist distance from either side of your chest)
- Lean back and lift your feet off the ground and keep them completely straight. (your body must be in an obtuse angle shape)
- Start passing the dumbbells across on both sides, using only the upper body.
- Bring the elbows to the sides in the same motion with your chest, keeping your head still and looking straight forward.
Pro tip:
Choose a light weight that is easy to handle, always keep your head in a straight shape with your back, also do not go with your back too far back, try to stay in an obtuse angle position and use the buttocks to balance your body, and focus on the abdominal muscles and its sides.
Training program :
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- Transverse abdominis
- Obliques
4- Straight Arm Twisting Crunches
This exercise also works to move your abdominal muscles to another level, this exercise is more challenging than the previous exercise because it puts more pressure on the abdominal muscles and works to target each side of the abdomen and exhaust it severely, it is really one of the exercises that you must rely on from In order to build 6 strong packs.
How to do it correctly:
It’s kind of like a regular crunch.
- Lie on your back, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor.
- Hold the dumbbells with both hands, keeping them straight in front of your chest.
- Then start raising your upper body completely and turn to one side on each time you go up.
Pro tip:
Choose a light weight that is easy to handle so as not to upset the balance of your body or hands, keep your hands in front of your chest and straight all the time and press your abdominal muscles hard, try not to tilt your feet to one side, keep your feet on the ground all the time and in the same position.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- Transverse abdominis
- Obliques
5- V-Up Dumbbells
Well, it is a killer exercise for the abdominal muscles. It allows the abdominal muscles to be stretched on a large scale, and this is what makes it effective in targeting the abdominal muscles and overburdening them strongly. Yes, it is not easy in terms of performance, but adhering to it gives you experience day after day until you ensure that you get its full benefits.
How to do it correctly:
- Lie completely on the ground.
- Holding dumbbells with both hands, push your hands straight behind your shoulders.
- Put your focus on the abdominal area, and make the only point of balance is the buttocks.
- Keeping your hands slightly bent off the ground, raise your feet straight at the same height as your hands.
- Raise your feet and the upper body at the same time as if you are going to take the shape of V.
- Try to keep your hands, back and feet as straight as possible.
Pro tip:
This exercise is not easy, but you can start doing it from the easy points, you don’t have to take the form of the V if you can’t do this during your first attempts, you can stop at any point you can reach and return to the starting point, the most important is do not let your hands and your feet touch the ground when going down, always leave a distance between your feet, your hands with the ground keep your abs under press all time.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- Transverse abdominis
- Glutes
- Hip flexors
6- Resistance band heel tap
The heel tap exercise is usually done without equipment, but adding a band to it is more challenging for the abdominal muscles as reaching the heels is a little difficult, and this is what puts the abdominal muscles under strong pressure throughout the exercise, especially the obliques.
How to do it correctly:
- First of all, wrap the band around a fixed iron bar.
- Lie down so that the iron bar is behind your head.
- Bend your knees and keep your feet above the ground.
- Grasp the band’s fists.
- Lift your head slightly, and then begin to pull the band’s grip onto one of your heels.
Pro tip:
Keep the abdominal muscles engaged all the time, do not let your head fall to the ground, keep your eyes directed at your abdominal muscles throughout the exercise, and always keep your feet in a stable position.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- Transverse abdominis
- Lower abs
7- Bicycle crunches with bands
The Bicycle crunch is one of the well-known abdominal exercises for everyone, so that it can be done at home and without equipment, and it is effective in targeting the abdominal area and working to strengthen it and sculpt its muscles. Adding the band to this exercise is a greater challenge to exhausting the abdominal muscles well and keeping them under pressure. throughout the exercise.
How to do it correctly:
- Keep the band tight with an iron bar just like the heel touch action.
- But this time you should lie on your back with the iron bar facing you.
- Insert both feet into band fists (each foot into a fist).
- Raise your knees and feet together as if you were sitting on a bicycle.
- Raise your head and shoulders and put your hands behind your ears.
- Then start pulling your right foot and turn your shoulders and head to the right, do the same with your left foot and so on, as if you were riding a bicycle.
Pro tip:
Keep your abdominal muscles engaged throughout the exercise, this means that you must keep your feet shaken throughout the exercise and the upper part of the body throughout the exercise because this keeps the abdominal muscles under pressure.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- Obliques
8- Straight Arm Band Crunch
It is like the regular crunch, a great exercise for the abdominal muscles, as doing it using the band adds a greater challenge to the abdominal muscles, it is one of the effective exercises in liposuction of the waist and sculpting the abdominal muscles well.
How to do it correctly:
- Always keep the band attached to that iron bar, whether at home or the gym.
- Lie on the floor, raise your knees and keep your feet above the ground.
- Grasp the band’s fists and push your hands well in front of your chest.
- Keep your hands straight throughout the exercise.
- Push your shoulders and chest up with each repetition.
Pro tip:
Press your abdominal muscles constantly, do not let them in a relaxing position. Keep pressing them every time you raise your shoulders up, and keep your hands straight in front of your chest throughout the exercise, and do not move your feet, just keep them stationary.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Upper abs
- Lower abs
- Secondary: Obliques, Transverse Abdominis.
9- Reverse Crunch With Band
In the reverse crunch, the abdominal muscles are targeted greatly so that the movement of raising the legs allows the abdominal muscles to be stretched on a large scale and this creates great pressure on the abdominal muscles, and with reliance on the band this adds a greater challenge and makes you get strength and a good workout.
How to do it correctly:
- Always keep the band tight on an iron bar.
- Lie on your back, insert your feet into my band’s fists.
- Put your hands under your hips.
- Squeeze your abdominal muscles, bring your feet together straight as far as you can reach and then lower them again without touching the ground.
Pro tip:
Breathe well, raise your feet as far as you can reach, and always keep your abdominal muscles under pressure and do not put your feet on the ground before the end of the exercise, always keep a small distance between the ground and your feet.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- External obliques
10- Lying Scissors With Band
Crunch scissors is also one of the exercises that many people rely on, not only in order to target the abdominal muscles, but also targets several muscles in the body, including the muscles of the thighs and hips as well. The band is added to this exercise as a kind of challenge to keep the abdominal muscles under greater pressure.
How to do it correctly:
- Again, the band is secured to the iron bar.
- Lie on the floor, put your hands under your hips or on the floor.
- Insert your feet into the handles of the band.
- It should look like you’re walking.
- Raise one leg and lower the other in a scissor-like motion.
Pro tip:
Try to raise your feet as far as you can reach, it does not have to be straight. Make it look like you are walking, try to squeeze the abdominal muscles as much as possible.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- Obliques
- Quads
- Glutes
11- Lying Leg Flutters
Leg flutters exercises, one of the famous abdominal exercises that anyone can do as it works to slim the abdominal area and sculpt its muscles, it can be effective even with bodyweight only the weight of your feet puts the abdominal muscles under pressure, and a sports shoe can increase the weight of the foot The abdominal muscles are well targeted.
How to do it correctly:
- Lay on the ground.
- Put your hands under your hips, or on the floor.
- Raise your chest and shoulders slightly off the ground so that you feel your stomach muscles under pressure.
- Lift your feet straight off the ground, and then start making a scissors movement with your feet.
Pro tip:
You can raise your feet higher if you are a bit professional, if you are still a beginner you can just do the scissors movement at a close distance, and do not forget to continue to press on your feet throughout the exercise.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- Quads
- Hips
12- Crucifix
I’m not used to seeing many people doing the crucifix exercise, although it is effective in targeting the abdominal muscles well, and puts the entire abdominal area under pressure, because it allows the entire body to go out and this allows the abdominal muscles to be fully and widely stretched.
How to do it correctly:
- Lay on your back.
- Raise your feet slightly off the ground, and your shoulders the same height as your feet.
- Keep your head pushed forward.
- Bring your chest and pull your knees toward each other and try to touch your heels.
- Each time you go back, open your hands well and straight.
Pro tip:
Remember to keep your abdominal muscles tight all the time, keep your head pushed up, and do not put your feet or hands on the ground, never allow the abdominal muscles to relax.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- Obliques
13- Russian Twists
Russian Twist is also one of the abdominal muscle exercises that do not require equipment and can be done anywhere. It is also effective in liposuction of the abdomen and keeps the abdominal muscles under great pressure throughout the exercise. It is an exercise that you can rely on well in the abdominal exercises schedule.
How to do it correctly:
- Sit in a comfortable position.
- Raise your feet slightly and straight off the ground.
- Push your back a little back, try to keep your body stable and your abdominal muscles engaged.
- Interlace your hands in front of your chest, then start rotating your upper body left and right at a moderate speed.
Pro tip:
Do not push your back too much, try to stay as stable as possible, focus well on the abdominal muscles and do not allow your feet to fall to the ground before the end of the exercise.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- Obliques
- Transverse abdominis
14- Star Crunches
Star Crunch is a strong abdominal exercise, it is called Star Crunch because your body takes the shape of a star on the ground, as it targets the abdominal muscles strongly and the movement of the full body stretching allows to stretch the abdominal muscles on a wide , and this generates great pressure on the abdominal muscles and strengthens them well.
How to do it correctly:
- Lie completely on the ground.
- Keep your head slightly off the ground.
- Extend your hands straight on each side, keeping your feet straight as well.
- Then begin to raise your right foot and your left hand in the direction of each other.
- Press your stomach and use your shoulders and sides to push your body upward.
- Keep your feet straight at all times.
Pro tip:
For good targeting, focus on keeping your feet straight. If you can’t reach your feet, just stop as far as you can reach, and keep your stomach under pressure throughout the exercise. Don’t allow your feet to touch the ground.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- Obliques
- Transverse abdominis
15- Reach Ups
Reach ups, it is an exercise that you may always do in your daily life without feeling, yes it is a good abdominal exercise that targets your 6 packs, it is kinda like a regular crunch but Reach ups allows you to target your abs hard and works to keep your stomach muscles under Lots of pressure throughout the exercise.
How to do it correctly:
- Lay on the back.
- Bend your knees and keep your feet above the ground.
- Push your hands straight in front of your chest.
- Push your hands up as if you were trying to grab something.
- Use your feet and hips a little to push your upper go up.
Pro tip:
Keep your feet as steady as possible, press your stomach well, don’t let your shoulders touch the ground when you come back down.
Training program:
- Repetition: 40 seconds without stopping
- Groups: 2 to 3 groups.
- Rest: 20 seconds then move to the next workout.
- How many times a week: 3 times.
Muscle worked:
- Rectus abdominis
- Transverse abdominis
What are the benefits of training your abs with many alternatives?
Abdominal muscle training through several alternatives is a good and useful thing for the abdominal muscles as it allows to target dilemmas in multiple ways and new challenges, because targeting the muscles with the same exercise always may not give good results, so it is necessary to rely on several alternatives in order to train any muscle.
According to some studies, abdominal exercises only once a week can increase the endurance of the abdominal muscles, and this means that commitment to abdominal exercises in the long term will be effective in building and strengthening the abdominal muscles.
In general, there are many benefits that you can get:
- Improving athletic performance in general.
- Build abdominal muscles.
- Improve body flexibility and balance.
- Reduce lower back pain.
- Burn more calories.
- Building core strength.
Muscle targeted
Rectus Abdominis: The function of the rectus abdominis muscles is to move the body between the rib cage and the pelvis.
The rectus abdominal muscles contribute to the aesthetics of the abdomen and its appearance in a decent appearance, when trying to target them in the exercises always.
Transverse Abdominis: The transverse abdomen is a basic muscle in the abdominal area, its role in protecting the internal organs and fixing them in place, and is a strong support for the stump as well and maintains the tension of the abdominal wall.
It is also good to train the transverse abdominal muscle and work to strengthen it well.
Obliques: The external oblique muscles are also major and responsible for the movement of the spine and core, as they help to twist the upper section right and left, and this makes them improve your performance with some exercises.
So keep training the obliques on a regular basis.
The most common mistakes people make during training abs
People make some mistakes while doing crunches or during training their abdominal muscles in general, and this may make them not get good results or they may not get results with.
There are some mistakes that you should avoid if you are doing one of them.
- Not activating the heart muscles and warming up well.
- Curvature of the back.
- Doing too many repetitions incorrectly.
- Do not stretch the abdominal muscles enough.
- Do not follow a healthy diet. (You may do everything the right way, but you won’t see good results if your diet encourages consuming a lot of empty calories.)
Smartly train your abs
Target your abdominal muscles in a systematic way, if you are a beginner, start with easy exercises and do not strain your muscles too much in the beginning, commit to abdominal exercises 3 times a week and the most important thing is to continue performing exercises, building abdominal muscles takes a long time, especially if your stomach is controlled by fat But do not worry, because these exercises will work on liposuction and help you build and strengthen the abdominal muscles.
Also, your diet is very important, as it constitutes 50% of the results that you will get, so rely on a healthy diet that contains all the healthy nutritional elements and macronutrients such as protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats.
Useful links
These links may be useful to you if you are a fan of building fitness and strength or gaining muscle at home, these links contain the most powerful CrossFit exercises that you can rely on mainly.
If you are a fan of bodyweight workouts, you can rely on these workouts at home, believe me, you may not need anyone to build strong fitness only at home.
Best CrossFit wods for abs at home
More than 50 Bodyweight wods for beginners (no equipment needed)
Best Jump rope wods to burn a lot of calories
10 Leg extension alternatives at home
If you have some equipment such as dumbbells, or a bar and some weights and you are a fan of building muscle, you may want to try the best CrossFit workouts for strength and build muscle endurance.
Best CrossFit wods for building strength
CrossFit dumbbell wods for beginners
Best 3 Wods to build strong muscles at home
If you are used to going to the gym, you can train the back area with the best cable workouts for the back.
