How to do a Reverse Crunch
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
Workouts with Reverse Crunch
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
Reverse Crunch is a variation on the more standard crunch, although it may appear closer to something like a Leg Raise. Rather than engaging your core to bring your chest towards your pelvis, you instead elevate your legs, and bring your pelvis in towards your chest.
- Lie on your back with your knees extended and arms by your sides with your palms facing down.
- Brace your torso by breathing into your stomach and flexing your abdominal muscles.
- Keep your arms on the floor as you pull your knees up to your chest while keeping your shins parallel with the floor.
- Once your thighs come into contact with your midsection, flex your abdomen to bring your pelvis in towards your lower ribcage to lift your lower back off the floor.
- Lower your legs under control to the starting position.
Tips & FAQs
Do Reverse Crunches (Sit Ups) work the glutes?
Reverse crunches and sit-ups primarily target the abdominal muscles, particularly the lower abs. They do not significantly work the glutes. For exercises that target the glutes, consider movements like squats, lunges, hip thrusts, and glute bridges.
Common Form Mistakes
Resting Between Reps
Keep your core engaged for the duration of the exercise, even between reps. This exercise is designed to add instability that your core needs to compensate for. Keeping your core engaged throughout the exercise will improve the effectiveness of the exercise.
Sets & Reps Calculator
Average Reverse Crunch standards by male, female, gender, weight, age and height
Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.
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Alternatives & Variations to Reverse Crunch
1. Crunches
94 mSCORESWAPPED 1,774 TIMESCrunches are one of the most common exercises out there. It’s an easy to perform, bodyweight exercise that targets your abdominals. Crunches are very similar to Sit Ups, however, instead of raising your upper body all the way into a near sitting position, you only raise your shoulder blades off the ground. This is a great exercise for beginners looking to build core strength.
2. Leg Raise
96.5 mSCORESWAPPED 1,390 TIMESLeg Raise is a simple bodyweight core exercise that involves laying on the ground and suspending your legs in the air. While your core does play a significant role in raising your legs, the real benefit comes from controlling their descent back to the floor.
3. Plank
92.8 mSCORESWAPPED 1,330 TIMESPlanks are one of the most common core exercises out there. This is a bodyweight exercise that is performed for time rather than reps. Planks don’t require any movement, instead they force you to place yourself in a position that requires you to engage your core, and maintain that muscle activation for the duration of the exercise. This is a great way to help build strength and stability in a way that will translate to a variety of other exercises, and your daily life.
4. Ab Crunch Machine
96.1 mSCORESWAPPED 1,239 TIMESAb Crunch Machine is a variation of Crunches performed with a machine. Unlike standard Crunches, the use of a machine gives you more control over your resistance. In addition, the machine will restrict your range of motion allowing you to focus more on exertion than stabilizing the movement.
- Intermediate
- Abs
- Ab Crunch Machine
5. Bicycle Crunch
91.8 mSCORESWAPPED 1,079 TIMESBicycle Crunch is a more difficult version of a standard crunch. Instead of raising your torso off the ground for each rep, you keep your torso off the ground, and your core engaged. By cycling your legs, you add more instability to the movement, which leads to better core activation.
6. Russian Twist
96.2 mSCORESWAPPED 934 TIMESRussian Twist is one of the more common core exercises. This exercise targets multiple muscles in your core, but the reason for including this exercise is usually to target your obliques. By raising your feet off the ground, engaging your core, and twisting to each side, you can better target this specific muscle in your core.
7. Leg Pull-In
94.9 mSCORESWAPPED 816 TIMESLeg Pull in is a bodyweight exercise that targets your core. By raising your legs off the ground, you’re already engaging your core. Additionally your core helps to pull your legs in towards your chest.
8. Scissor Kick
94.2 mSCORESWAPPED 813 TIMESScissor Kicks are a bodyweight, core exercise that involve raising your feet off the ground, and kicking your legs up and down. By raising your legs off the ground, you’re already working your core. By continually alternating which leg is raised, you’re constantly forced to keep your core engaged for stability as well as to keep each leg raised.