Core · Bodyweight
Weighted Plate Lying Crunch
How to do the weighted plate lying 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
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie on your back with your knees bent and hold a weight plate across your chest or just behind your head. Curl your shoulders up off the floor, squeezing your abs, then lower back down with control. Keep the plate steady throughout.
- 1Feel a strong squeeze through your abs as you curl up
- 2Curl from the rib cage and keep your lower back grounded
- 3Hold the plate steady and let your abs do the lifting
Common mistakes
- Don't yank your neck or lead with your chin
- Avoid using momentum to swing the plate up
- Don't pull from your hip flexors to start the crunch
Muscles worked
The weighted plate lying crunch mainly works the upper abs and lower abs, with the obliques assisting.
- Upper AbsPrimary
- Lower AbsPrimary
- ObliquesSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- QuadsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the weighted plate lying 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.