Reverse Crunch
Lying on your back with knees bent over your hips, you curl your hips off the floor and bring your knees toward your chest, then lower slowly.
- Primary muscles
- Lower abs
- Secondary
- Abs
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
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Why do it
The reverse crunch flips the regular crunch: your upper body stays down and your pelvis curls up toward your ribs, which shifts more of the work to your lower abs. It's a good beginner step toward hanging knee and leg raises, since it teaches the same pelvic curl without needing a bar or grip. The movement is small, and the hip lift is the part that counts; only pulling your knees in is mostly hip flexor work. Do it on a decline bench to make it harder.
How to do it
Lie on your back with your arms at your sides and your knees bent above your hips.
Curl your hips off the floor and bring your knees toward your chest.
Pause at the top, then lower your hips slowly back down without letting your feet touch the floor.
Pull with your abs rather than swinging your legs; the movement is small and controlled.
Common mistakes
Swinging your legs for momentum
Throwing your knees toward your face rolls your hips up with momentum instead of your abs. Keep the movement small and lift your hips with a slow, deliberate curl.
Only moving your knees
Bringing your knees toward your chest without lifting your hips skips the ab work. Think about peeling your tailbone off the floor.
Resting your feet on the floor
Setting your feet down between reps lets the tension go. Lower your hips slowly and keep your feet hovering until the set is done.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
