For your abs
For your abs, cable crunch rates higher on our research criteria: more stretch.
Both are good choices that train the abs the same way, so they swap freely. Rotating between them every few weeks is an easy way to vary your training.
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Cable Crunch. Loadable spinal flexion: the abs finally get progressive overload like any other muscle.
Machine Crunch. Loaded spinal flexion on a fixed path, easy to progress like any other machine.
For your abs, cable crunch rates higher on our research criteria: more stretch. Both are good choices that train the abs the same way, so they swap freely. Rotating between them every few weeks is an easy way to vary your training.
About the same: both are easy to learn.
Cable crunch needs a cable station, so for most people it’s a gym exercise. Machine crunch needs a machine, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
About the same: both rate Excellent for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric.