Technique Summary

Lie on your back with feet flat on the floor and a 45 degree bend in your knees.  Place your hands at your sides with palms down.  Bring your feet to your torso by rounding your back.  Exhale at the top, inhale at the bottom.

Technique Details

In addition to the method described in the exercise summary, you could also stabilize your body by placing your hands under your tailbone.  Your elbows will serve as support and should be placed at roughly shoulder length (wider or narrower depending on what’s most comfortable).  Keeping your hands under your tailbone should alleviate tension in the lower back.

The videos do a great job in describing the path of your feet in performing the basic reverse crunch.  As you develop your abs, you could start challenging yourself by introducing some variety.  First thing you could do is move your feet out and away from your body by straightening them instead of keeping a bend and just rolling them into your body.  You can also bring up your upper body towards your legs for a full reverse crunch.  The most difficult enhancement is lifting your tailbone off the ground at the top of the movement, as if reaching with your legs toward the ceiling.

If you decide to perform the full reverse crunch by raising your torso into your legs, pay special attention to the space between your chin and your chest.  As tempting as it may be to bring the two together doing so is incorrect.  Pretend that you have a tennis ball under your chin and hold it steady.  Finally, as with all crunches, it is critical to roll your lower back.