Crunches and neck pain. Help!

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renae161
renae161 Posts: 334 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So, when i'm working out I've been doing crunches, but it's been causing me to have neck pain. What do I do? I don't want to stop my current exercise routine, but at the same time I can't keep up with the pain in the back of my neck. I do both floor crunches and standing ones.
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Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited October 2016
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    Crunches aren't a great exercise even if you're doing them right which it sounds like you aren't

    Keep your neck neutral and put your fingers to your forehead with elbows out ...you're probably leading with your head or pulling your head with your hands
  • renae161
    renae161 Posts: 334 Member
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    I'm doing the Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. They have you do about 4 different kinds of crunches during the workout. My elbow's are out to my sides and fingertips are behind my ear's like she said, but it's still causing pain so i'm thinking I may switch out that exercise for a different ab alternative. Standing crunches work fine for me, it's just the floor ones that really get to me.Any suggestions for ab workouts I should be doing?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    You're leading with your head, slow down and correct your form

    Compound lifts ..squats, deadlifts etc push ups, pull ups ...all engage core without need for isolation like crunches

    I damaged my knee doing 30 day shred (I did it barefoot cos it was in my living room,...I was pretty ignorant)
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Do reverse crunches. Keep head on floor and bring knees to chest. Suggested by my trainer because I have neck issues & crunches are unbearable. There are lots of ab exercises that benefit you without crunches.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited October 2016
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    As for crunches, watch your range of motion cos you should only be lifting about 3 inches off the floor, you're pulling with your abs ...don't jerk your head or tuck your neck into your chest as you lift up – imagine a tennis ball between your chin and chest.

    njdhm0b00xjb.jpg
  • renae161
    renae161 Posts: 334 Member
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    Alright, thanks. I have a bad knee too from an injury a few years back. I still have to go to physical therapy for it. But, I will take your advice and look into different ab workouts.
  • alyangel123
    alyangel123 Posts: 41 Member
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    Weird tip but I was once told to press my tongue against the roof of my mouth and it took a lot of pressure off my bad neck.
  • renae161
    renae161 Posts: 334 Member
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    Great suggestions! Thanks everyone. I will look more into different ab exercises after my workout tonight to add them into my current routine.
  • meritage4
    meritage4 Posts: 1,441 Member
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    Hold your earlobes instead of hands behind your head. Then you won't pull on your neck
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    Try putting an orange or tennis ball under your chin. It helps with neck alignment...
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,966 Member
    edited October 2016
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    renae161 wrote: »
    I'm doing the Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. They have you do about 4 different kinds of crunches during the workout. My elbow's are out to my sides and fingertips are behind my ear's like she said, but it's still causing pain so i'm thinking I may switch out that exercise for a different ab alternative. Standing crunches work fine for me, it's just the floor ones that really get to me.Any suggestions for ab workouts I should be doing?
    renae161 wrote: »
    Alright, thanks. I have a bad knee too from an injury a few years back. I still have to go to physical therapy for it. But, I will take your advice and look into different ab workouts.

    Look how many times knee issues come up in the one star reviews for 30 DS. Have your PT design a better workout for you.

    https://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Michaels-30-Day-Shred/product-reviews/B00127RAJY/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_hist_1?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&reviewerType=all_reviews
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Your form is bad and you're pulling and leading with your head...cross your arms over your chest and keep your neck neutral. Crunches require nice form to be effective and not get you hurt.
  • renae161
    renae161 Posts: 334 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    renae161 wrote: »
    I'm doing the Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. They have you do about 4 different kinds of crunches during the workout. My elbow's are out to my sides and fingertips are behind my ear's like she said, but it's still causing pain so i'm thinking I may switch out that exercise for a different ab alternative. Standing crunches work fine for me, it's just the floor ones that really get to me.Any suggestions for ab workouts I should be doing?
    renae161 wrote: »
    Alright, thanks. I have a bad knee too from an injury a few years back. I still have to go to physical therapy for it. But, I will take your advice and look into different ab workouts.

    Look how many times knee issues come up in the one star reviews for 30 DS. Have your PT design a better workout for you.

    https://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Michaels-30-Day-Shred/product-reviews/B00127RAJY/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_hist_1?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&reviewerType=all_reviews

    My knee injury wasn't from 30ds, it happened in an accident a few years back before I started 30ds. It has actually gotten stronger since doing the workout and the pt exercises . It's still a bit stiff during stretches, but not as bad as before. I'm supposed to be swimming as a part of pt, but there aren't any gyms near me with a pool. The only problem in the workout I struggle with is the regular crunches.
  • renae161
    renae161 Posts: 334 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Your form is bad and you're pulling and leading with your head...cross your arms over your chest and keep your neck neutral. Crunches require nice form to be effective and not get you hurt.

    Thanks for the suggestion. I ended up doing Alyangel123's trick, and correcting my form as sued0min said which helped a lot last night.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,982 Member
    edited October 2016
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    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Crunches aren't a great exercise even if you're doing them right which it sounds like you aren't
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Compound lifts ..squats, deadlifts etc push ups, pull ups ...all engage core without need for isolation like crunches

    Agreed!

    Crunches (and sit-ups) are an antiquated (macho myth sustained) isolation exercise of very limited utility, which are entirely unnecessary if you are doing compound lifts (w/heavy weights) that engage your core that can also cause injury if done incorrectly (like over-extending you back while doing sit-ups on a GHD).

    I've developed rock solid abs doing so w/o doing any crunches or sit-ups. The only ab specific exercises that I would recommend are hanging leg lifts (not just knee lifts) -- where you hang from a bar w/your arms and lift your legs up to touch the bar w/your toes -- which is a compound movement (that also strengthens your grip, arms, shoulders, back and hips) while specifically targeting your abs and core.
  • renae161
    renae161 Posts: 334 Member
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    I can't do dead squats here or most of that stuff here. There's only one gym here and it's really small and mostly filled with just treadmills. So i just workout at home and on the trail.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Try not doing crunches. They're pretty much pointless.
  • renae161
    renae161 Posts: 334 Member
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    I just started doing planks and mountain climber's. I'm unsure what else to do though.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Push ups
    Pull ups
    Bodyweight squats, jump squats,, lunges


    Invest in some dumbbells and/or kettlebells
  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
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    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    Try putting an orange or tennis ball under your chin. It helps with neck alignment...

    I was going to say imagine there's an orange under your chin. Also hold your tongue to the roof of your mouth, that sometimes helps with keeping the gap between chin and neck.

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