Core · Bodyweight
Incline Twisting Sit-up
How to do the incline twisting sit-up, 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
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie back on a decline bench set to an incline with your feet anchored and hands at your temples. Curl your torso up and rotate, bringing one elbow toward the opposite knee. Lower under control and alternate sides each rep.
- 1Obliques driving the twist as you crunch up
- 2A combined curl-and-rotate, not just a sit-up
- 3Tension held through the abs across the whole range
Common mistakes
- Pulling on your head or neck to lift
- Using momentum to swing up instead of curling
- Rotating only at the shoulders without the trunk
Muscles worked
The incline twisting sit-up mainly works the obliques and upper abs, with the lower abs and hip flexors assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Upper AbsPrimary
- Lower AbsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- QuadsMinor
Kovo programs the incline twisting sit-up 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.