Core · Bodyweight
Negative Crunch
How to do the negative crunch, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie on your back with knees bent and hands behind your head. Crunch up quickly, then lower your torso back down as slowly as possible, fighting the descent with your abs the whole way. The emphasis is on the slow negative, not the lift.
- 1A long, controlled burn through your upper abs on the way down
- 2Your rib cage pulling toward your pelvis as you lower
- 3Constant tension, never relaxing at the bottom
Common mistakes
- Dropping back down fast and skipping the negative
- Pulling on your head and neck with your hands
- Letting your hip flexors take over the movement
Muscles worked
The negative crunch mainly works the upper abs and lower abs, with the obliques assisting.
- Upper AbsPrimary
- Lower AbsPrimary
- ObliquesSupport
- QuadsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the negative 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.