Agreed. I’d like to add that if you’re avoiding heavy compound exercises, such as Squats and Deadlifts, due to injury concerns, you might not be adequately targeting your core muscles. It’s common to see people at the gym performing numerous high-rep bodyweight exercises. However, your core muscles are not much different from the rest of your muscles. To achieve better hypertrophy and strength gains, you should apply the same principles as you would for other muscles, meaning you should aim for approximately 8 to 12 reps.
Reaching sufficient intensity within this range can be challenging with bodyweight exercises, which is why I suggest weighted machine crunches. They not only allow for heavier loads but also simplify the application of progressive overload, leading to improved hypertrophy and strength. These exercises have also been proven to provide superior EMG muscle activation compared to traditional bodyweight crunches.
For those particularly concerned with aesthetics, I recommend training your obliques by adding wood choppers to your routine, applying the same principles as you would for machine crunches.
It’s maybe worth noting that Stockfish 14 NNUE still has some failure modes. Take this position for example: positionOnLichess. The position is a complete draw, as Black can’t make any progress, and White cannot lose as long as he only moves his king. Despite this, Stockfish 14 NNUE evaluates it as a −15 advantage for Black, which should typically indicate a decisive advantage. Even a human player with relatively low Elo should be able to quickly assess this position as a draw.