If the last few months have left you a little fluffier around your midsection than you’d like, join the club. Before embarking on an ab exercise overload to trim your tummy, however, you might want to reconsider.

According to the American Council on Exercise, there’s sadly no such thing as “spot reduction” when it comes to fat loss. Meaning, if you consistently work a particular muscle group, you will not see that area get slimmer. What the body does when it needs stored fuel after extended exercise is grab from basically wherever. This is exactly why when you start losing weight you’ll see, or rather feel, the difference everywhere but where you want it — seriously, the boobs are always the first to go…

That’s not to say that incorporating crunches into your daily exercise regimen isn’t a good idea. There are many benefits to strengthening your core that will make a huge impact in your life.

Doing crunches every day can improve your balance and help you exercise better

Even if you’re not an athlete, balance is an important part of functional fitness. From bending over to pull weeds in your garden to reaching the top shelf of a kitchen cabinet, your core plays an integral part in how easy these tasks are to accomplish and how likely you are to tweak a muscle or cause an injury by simply tying your shoes.

The Mayo Clinic explains that having weak core muscles can result in “poor posture, lower back pain and muscle injuries.” Which might explain why it hurts sometimes just to get out of bed in the morning. If you consistently work these muscles and keep them strong, however, you can actually “train the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen to work in harmony.” That means improved balance when you’re doing everything from running on a treadmill to carrying around a toddler. And the best part is a strong core means higher endurance — you can both exercise harder and longer without getting as tired and still have fuel in the tank to do your daily chores like running errands and cleaning the house.

Doing crunches every day doesn't require specialized equipment or a gym membership

Whether you’re completely new to working out or a seasoned gym rat, crunches are the type of core workout that can be done anywhere, anytime, with no equipment other than your own body. That’s particularly great if you’re traveling, short on time, or just don’t enjoy the gym environment.

As Healthy Living points out, crunches are considered strength-training exercises even though they don’t require the use of weights to do them. That’s because your abs need to actually lift the weight of your upper body to complete the rep. That causes the muscles to become overloaded, resulting in micro tears, which are actually a good thing. When the muscles heal, they will adapt and increase in size.

It’s important to note that when your muscles are particularly sore, it’s best not to overwork them because you want them to heal and not cause further injury, but if your goal is to do crunches every day, simply do fewer reps on the days after you push yourself hard.

There’s no denying that crunches are a great exercise to do daily, and as long as you listen to your body, rest when you need to, follow proper technique and form, and have realistic expectations about the impact they will have on your overall fitness goals, you’ll be very pleased with the core-strengthening results.

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