What exactly do crunches do?

Since crunches dont bulk up the abs, and doesn't burn fat around the abs, what do crunches do for your body? Do they just tone up your lower back and abs a bit?
 
Bulking is a fuction of diet and working out. If your abs aren't developing from working them out, guess what's wrong?

You should know by now that spot reducing is not possible.
 
I appreciate your response, but it did not answer my question, and I'm also not having problems bulking up my abs. I have a good diet and bulk my abs by doing weighted hanging leg raises. I was just wondering what the science of doing crunches does to your body since it doesn't burn fat around your abs and doesn't bulk your abs

Well from at least what I've read through this forum, that it has been said that crunches dont bulk or burn fat of/around the abs
 
Crunches and other various core training exercises will help strengthen your core muscles. The core is the beginning point for all movement, and if its weak, it will hurt your performance in other training and day to day movements.
 
Either people are getting progressively worse at asking questions, or I'm getting progressively worse at understanding them.

Like Tony said, crunches strengthen the abdominals. And the strength of your abdominals is fundamental to any type of physical performance.
 
Yes, a strong core helps to transfer the power of your legs to your upper body when doing squats, deadlifts, etc, through stabilization.
 
The abs are made of predominantly type I (endurance) muscle fiber (Fass told me this). As such, it's not prone to much growth.
 
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