Core · Bodyweight
Air Pillow Crunch
How to do the air pillow crunch, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie back with your lower back resting on an inflated air pillow, knees bent and feet flat. Curl your shoulders and upper back up off the cushion, crunching your ribs toward your hips, then lower with control while the pillow adds range and instability.
- 1Upper abs contracting as you curl the ribs toward the hips
- 2A deeper stretch at the bottom from the cushion
- 3Smooth, controlled curl rather than a yank
Common mistakes
- Pulling on your neck to lift your head
- Using momentum to bounce off the pillow
- Coming all the way up into a sit-up; keep it a curl
Muscles worked
The air pillow crunch mainly works the upper abs, with the lower abs, obliques, and hip flexors assisting.
- Upper AbsPrimary
- Lower AbsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
Kovo programs the air pillow crunch for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.