Core · Bodyweight
Cross-body Crunch
How to do the cross-body crunch, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Core Hold
- Mechanic
- Accessory
How to do it
Lie on your back with knees bent. Lift your shoulders and twist diagonally, bringing one elbow towards the opposite knee. Lower and repeat on the other side.
- 1Lying on your back, twist to bring your elbow toward the opposite knee; you should feel your obliques firing
- 2Lift your shoulder blades off the floor and engage your core as you twist
- 3Exhale during the twist and move slowly for maximum contraction
Common mistakes
- Don't pull on your neck or use your arms to yank yourself up
- Avoid jerking your legs or using momentum to twist
- Don't lift your lower back off the floor, isolate the movement in your torso
Muscles worked
The cross-body crunch mainly works the upper abs and lower abs, with the obliques assisting.
- Upper AbsPrimary
- Lower AbsPrimary
- ObliquesSupport
- QuadsMinor
Cross-body Crunch strength standards
See how your cross-body crunch ranks, from Bronze to Champion. These are the same standards the Kovo app uses to rank your lifts.
Bronze6 reps
Silver14 reps
Gold50 reps
Platinum89 reps
Diamond111 reps
Champion132 reps
Find your rank
Enter your best set of reps.
Kovo tracks this rank automatically as you train, across every lift, and levels you up as you get stronger.
Kovo programs the cross-body 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 April 2026.