Core · Bodyweight
Cross Standing Crunch
How to do the cross standing 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
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand tall with your hands behind your head. Lift one knee while crunching your torso down and across, bringing the opposite elbow toward that knee. Return to standing and repeat on the other side, twisting through your core each rep.
- 1Feel your obliques fire as you twist elbow toward the opposite knee
- 2Keep your core braced and stand tall between reps
- 3Drive the knee up to meet the elbow in the middle
Common mistakes
- Don't yank your head forward with your hands
- Avoid rushing; rotate with control
- Don't lock the standing knee; keep a slight bend
Muscles worked
The cross standing crunch mainly works the obliques, with the upper abs, lower abs, quads, and hip flexors assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- QuadsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
Kovo programs the cross standing 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.