Core · Bodyweight
Sitting Side Crunch
How to do the sitting side crunch, 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
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Sit on the floor or a bench leaning back slightly, with your hands behind your head and feet lifted or planted. Crunch your torso down toward one hip, drawing your ribs toward your pelvis on that side to feel the oblique contract. Return to center under control, then crunch toward the other side, alternating for reps.
- 1The oblique on the working side shortening as you crunch down
- 2Your ribs pulling toward your hip rather than your arm tugging
- 3Your core staying braced as you switch sides
Common mistakes
- Pulling on your neck with your hands to drag yourself over
- Using momentum to bounce side to side
- Letting your torso fall straight forward instead of laterally
Muscles worked
The sitting side crunch mainly works the obliques, with the upper abs, lower abs, and hip flexors assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- QuadsMinor
Kovo programs the sitting side 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.