Bottle Weighted Frog Crunch

How to do the Bottle Weighted Frog Crunch

1. 1Lie on your back on a mat and press the soles of your feet together, letting your knees fall open to the sides in a frog position.
2. 2Hold a filled water bottle with both hands against your chest, or extend it over your chest for a longer lever and harder rep.
3. 3Brace your core and flatten your lower back gently into the floor.
4. 4Exhale and curl your head, shoulders, and upper back off the floor, lifting the bottle toward your knees.
5. 5Squeeze your abs hard at the top, keeping your feet together and knees open throughout.
6. 6Inhale and lower your torso under control until your shoulder blades touch back down.
7. 7Repeat for your target reps, keeping the movement slow and avoiding any neck strain.
8. 8Set the bottle down once you finish your final rep.

Form tips

• Lead with your ribs curling toward your hips rather than yanking your head forward, so the work stays on your abs.
• Keep the bottle close to your chest to make reps easier, or extend it overhead to increase the resistance.
• Move at a 2-second-up, 2-second-down tempo and pause to squeeze at the top for more time under tension.
• Fill the bottle more or less to dial in the load — it is an easy way to progress this crunch over time.
• Keep your chin slightly tucked, as if holding an egg under it, to protect your neck.

Common mistakes

• Pulling on your neck or letting your head jut forward, which strains the cervical spine and takes tension off the abs.
• Letting the knees drift closed instead of staying frogged open, which lets the hip flexors take over the movement.
• Crunching with momentum and bouncing off the floor, which uses swing instead of muscular control and reduces the work on your abs.
• Lifting only the head and not the shoulder blades, so the rectus abdominis never fully contracts.
• Holding your breath through the rep instead of exhaling on the crunch, which raises pressure and reduces core bracing.

Frequently asked questions