Reverse Crunch

Start

Finish

How to do it

Lie on your back with knees bent over the hips and hands flat beside you, then curl the pelvis up off the floor toward your ribs so the knees travel toward your chest, and lower one vertebra at a time.

Muscles worked

Primary: core · Also works: hip_flexors

Equipment

No equipment

Common mistakes

• Swinging the legs to generate momentum instead of curling the tailbone off the floor
• Pushing down hard with the hands to help lift the hips
• Letting the feet drop toward the floor between reps, which shifts the work to the hip flexors

Variations

• Hold a bench or the legs of a heavy chair overhead for anchoring
• Pause one second at the top of the curl
• Slow the lowering phase to four seconds

Can't do this one? Swap it for

• Dead Bug Heel Tap
• Tuck Hollow Hold
• Hanging Knee Raise
• Lying Leg Raise

Related exercises

• Front Plankcore
• Dead Bugcore
• Hollow Body Holdcore
• Hanging Leg Raisecore
• Mountain Climbercore
• Defense Drill (Slip / Roll / Block)core