Legs · Bodyweight
Side Crunch Squat
How to do the side crunch squat, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and sit back into a squat. As you stand, crunch your torso toward one side, bringing your elbow and knee toward each other. Return to a squat and alternate the crunch side each rep.
- 1Your quads and glutes driving out of the squat
- 2Your obliques crunching hard as you bend toward each side at the top
- 3Your core staying engaged through the transition
Common mistakes
- Letting your knees collapse inward in the squat
- Bending forward instead of crunching directly to the side
- Rushing through the squat with no depth
Muscles worked
The side crunch squat mainly works the quads, obliques, and glutes, with the upper abs, lower abs, and hamstrings assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- ObliquesPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- CalvesMinor
- AdductorsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the side crunch squat 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 quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed June 2026.