Reverse Crunch
The reverse crunch trains the abdominals by curling the pelvis toward the rib cage from the floor with bent knees and no leg swing.
ABS · CORE
How it is executed
- Lie on your back with your arms by your sides and your knees bent at 90 degrees with feet off the floor.
- Contract your lower abs to curl your hips off the floor, bringing your knees toward your chest.
- Slowly lower your hips back down without letting your feet touch the floor.
- Focus on using your abs to lift your hips rather than swinging your legs.
- Muscles worked
- Abs
- Primary muscle
- Lower abs
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Movement pattern
- Core
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- What it is for
- StrengthHypertrophyCore strengthStability
- Also known as
- Reverse ab crunchLying reverse crunch
Common mistakes
- Throwing the legs: initiate with the abs and a small range.
- Rolling onto the neck: stop before loading the cervical region.
- Dropping the pelvis: set it down gently.
Frequently asked questions
- Does it only train the lower abs?
- No. The rectus abdominis works as a whole; the difference is moving the pelvis toward the ribs rather than the ribs toward the pelvis.
- How high should the hips lift?
- Only enough to curl the pelvis off the floor with control. Do not shift weight onto the neck or aim the knees at your face.
- How does it differ from leg raises?
- Here the key is pelvic rotation. If only the thighs move and the pelvis stays down, hip movement predominates.
Sources and editorial approach
The explanation, variations and FAQs are Kaizer’s editorial synthesis. ACSM’s 2026 guidance provides general context on progression and resistance training in healthy adults; it does not independently validate the technique of each variation.
No individual professional review is recorded for this page.
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