Core · Bodyweight
Crab Knee to Elbow
How to do the crab knee to elbow, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Sit on the floor and lift your hips into a reverse tabletop, with hands under your shoulders and feet flat. From this crab position, drive one knee toward the opposite elbow, crunching your torso, then return and switch sides. Keep your hips lifted the whole time.
- 1Your abs and obliques crunching as knee meets opposite elbow
- 2Your glutes and triceps holding your hips up off the floor
- 3Your shoulders staying stable and braced under your hands
Common mistakes
- Letting your hips drop between reps
- Rushing the twist instead of controlling each crunch
- Shrugging into your neck; keep your chest open
Muscles worked
The crab knee to elbow mainly works the obliques and lower abs, with the upper abs, glutes, hip flexors, and triceps assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Lower AbsPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- GlutesSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- TricepsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- QuadsMinor
- HamstringsMinor
- Front DeltsMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the crab knee to elbow 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.