8 Cable Crunch Alternatives You Can Do at Home

As a personal trainer for over 3 decades, I program in the cable crunch regularly as part of a well rounded core workout whenever I can.

The problem is that most people I train at home don’t have a cable pulley machine.

That’s when I’ve got to go to Plan B – cable crunch alternative exercises. Fortunately, there are some very good ones.

In this article, I’ll lay out the 8 best cable crunch alternatives to work your abs when you don’t have access to a cable pulley machine.

Why You Should Do the Cable Crunch

If you have access to a cable pulley machine, I strongly recommend that you start doing cable crunches.

This exercise moves your abs through its full range of motion, which is to pull the ribcage down towards the pelvis.

The key advantage of doing the crunch on a cable machine is that you can choose a precise weight that feels appropriate for 15-30 reps, which is the ideal range for working your abs.

All you have to do is adjust the pin on the weight stack to add resistance.

I recommend doing the cable crunch seated on a bench. This allows you to keep your lower back pressed against the back pad and bend forward with just the upper half of the torso.

When you do the exercise kneeling on the floor, there is a tendency to continue moving the torso forward. When you do this, you engage the hip flexors, which is not what you want to do. 

How to do the cable crunch

1. Set the pulley on a cable machine to shoulder level when you are standing and put a rope handle on the end of the pulley. 
2. Position a bench three feet in front of the cable machines and sit on it, facing away. 
3. Sit on the bench and grab the rope handle above your head. 
4. Crunch down to bring your chest toward your knees. Keep your lower back against the bench pad, rounding with the upper back.Forcefully contract your abs. Reverse the action to return to the start position. 

Personal trainer tips:

• Do not pull with your arms; focus on abdominal contraction
• Keep your lower back against the back pad
• Experiment with pulley heights to find the ‘sweet spot’ for maximum ab stimulation
• Select a weight that allows you to do 30 reps (the last 5-6 should be tough), then add weight and drop the reps on each succeeding set
• Don’t go lower than 15 reps

Cable crunch – muscles worked

Primary:

• Abs

Secondary:

• Obliques

What a good cable crunch alternative must do

There are two primary requirements for an effective cable crunch alternative…

1. Work the same muscle groups

The cable crunch works the following muscle groups:

• Rectus Abdominis
• Transversus Abdominis
• External Obliques

The target muscle is the rectus abdominis. This is a flat band of muscle that lies between the front of the ribs and the pelvis. It’s function is to bring the ribs down toward the pelvis, causing spinal flexion.

The external obliques and transverse abdominis muscles are situated at the sides of your waist and act as secondary, or support muscles to stabilize the core during the crunch motion.

As mentioned in the previous section, if you lift your lower back off the back pad by crunching too far forward, you will engage the hip flexors. This will detract from the ab focus of the exercise.

2. Allow for progressive resistance

Progressive resistance is the key to muscular development and strength gains. Your abs require progressive resistance just like your biceps or quads do.

The cable crunch allows you to add resistance by simply selecting your resistance from a weight stack.

Without alternative exercises, you can add resistance in various ways, including holding a medicine ball, weight plate or dumbbell. 

Equipment needed for these exercises

8 cable crunch alternatives that replicate the same movement pattern

1. Reverse crunch

Equipment needed for the reverse crunch:

• Resistance band

How to do the reverse crunch:

1. Attach a resistance band to a fixed anchor point at floor level.
2. Lie on your back a couple of feet in front of the anchor point with your arms at your sides and your palms facing down. Wrap your feet around the band to create resistance
3. Bring your knees up so that your thighs are perpendicular to the ground and your lower legs are parallel to the ground.
4. Slowly lift your hips off the ground, curling your tailbone towards your knees. This should create a “C” shape with your body.
5. Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, squeezing your abs.
6. Slowly lower your hips back down to the starting position.

Reverse crunch muscles worked:

• Rectus abdominis
• External obliques
• Transverse abdominis

2. Weighted crunches

Equipment needed for weighted crunches:

• None

How to do weighted crunches:

1. Get down on the floor, with a weight plate in your hand. Lie on your back with your knees bent. Place the weight plate over your chest area.
2. From a starting position with your head on the floor and your spine in a neutral position, round the back as you crunch up to fully contract your rectus abdominis. 
3. Hold the top position for a two second count.
4. Lower and repeat.

Weighted crunches muscles worked:

• Rectus abdominis
• External obliques
• Transverse abdominis

3. Seated medicine ball throw

Equipment needed for the medicine ball throw:

• Medicine Ball
• Swiss Ball

How to do the medicine ball throw:

1. Sit on the floor with a Swiss ball behind you for support. Your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. You should be facing a wall.
2. Hold a medicine ball with both hands, with your elbows bent and the ball resting at chest height.
3. Lean back slightly, keeping your core engaged and your back straight.
4. Explosively throw the ball at the wall, extending your arms fully.
5. Catch the ball on the rebound.

Medicine ball throw muscles worked:

• Rectus abdominis
• External obliques
• Transverse abdominis

4. Weighted jackknife pullover

Equipment needed for the weighted jackknife pullover:

• Weight plate

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How to do the weighted jackknife pullover:

1. Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground.
2. Hold a weight plate with both hands, with your arms extended above your chest.
3. Keeping your arms straight, lift the weight plate up and over your head, bringing it behind you as you simultaneously lift your legs off the ground.
4. Pause briefly at the top of the movement, squeezing your abs.
5. Slowly lower your arms and legs back down to the starting position.

Weighted jackknife pullover muscles worked:

• Rectus abdominis
• External obliques
• Transverse abdominis

5. Russian twist

Equipment needed for the Russian twist:

• Dumbbell

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How to do the Russian twist:

1. Sit on the ground with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Hold a dumbbell with both hands, with your arms extended in front of your chest.
3. Lean back slightly, keeping your core engaged and your back straight.
4. Rotate your torso to the left, bringing the dumbbell towards your left hip.
5. Pause briefly, then rotate your torso to the right, bringing the dumbbell towards your right hip.

Russian twist muscles worked:

• External obliques
• Transverse abdominis
• Rectus abdominis

Rotator cuff problems preventing you from overhead lifting? Check out our 9 overhead press alternatives for the ultimate body.

6. Twisting pistons

Equipment needed for twisting pistons:

• Ankle weights

How to do twisting pistons:

1. Pout on a pair of ankle weights.
2. Get down into a plank position, resting on your elbows and your toes, with feet together. 
3. Keeping your butt down, bring both feet up to the left toward your left elbow. 
4. Immediately kick them back and then up toward the right knee. 
5. Continue this fluid piston-like motion until your prescribed number of reps has been achieved.

Twisting pistons muscles worked:

• External obliques
• Transverse abdominis
• Rectus abdominis

7. Bicycle crunches

Equipment needed for bicycle crunches:

• None

How to do bicycle crunches:

1. Put on a pair of ankle weights.
2. Lie on an exercise mat with your legs out straight and your hands alongside your ears (do not clasp your hands together). 
3. Lift your feet off the ground and lift your head and shoulders.
4. Begin a cycling action with your legs, simultaneously bringing your elbows across to the opposite knee.

Medicine ball throw muscles worked:

• Rectus abdominis
• External obliques
• Transverse abdominis

8. Starfish crunch

Equipment needed for the starfish crunch:

• None

How to do the starfish crunch:

1. Strap on a pair of ankle weights.
2. Lie spread-eagled on the floor with your arms and legs stretched out starfish style. 
3. Without bending your knees, attempt to bring your right hand and left foot into contact with each other. You should only be lifting your shoulder blades from the floor. Feel a deep contraction in the abs in the top position. 
4. Return to the start position, controlling the movement,  and repeat with the other side.

Starfish crunch muscles worked:

• Abdominals
• Lower back

Cable crunch alternatives: The bottom line

The cable crunch is a fantastic abs exercise that you should be doing if you have access to a cable pulley machine.

If not, you’ve now got 8 effective cable crunch alternatives that work the same muscles against resistance.

To keep your ab sessions interesting why not rotate through them on a continual cycle, doing 2-3 exercises each workout? Keep your reps between 15-30 for best results.

Love to build a home gym but not sure where to start? Check out our ultimate guide to building a home gym on any budget.