Crunches With Legs Up: Form Guide and Benefits

Master the legs-up crunch with our step-by-step guide to isolate your core, protect your lower back, and improve abdominal definition.

How to Perform

  1. Lie flat on your back on a firm surface with your arms crossed over your chest or hands lightly supporting your head.
  2. Raise your legs into the air and bend your knees at a ninety-degree angle so your calves are parallel to the floor.
  3. Exhale and contract your abdominals to lift your shoulder blades two to three inches off the ground.
  4. Keep your neck neutral and avoid pulling on your head by focusing your gaze on a fixed point on the ceiling.
  5. Pause for a brief second at the peak of the contraction while maintaining the position of your legs.
  6. Inhale as you slowly lower your upper body back to the starting position without letting your core relax completely.

Common Mistakes

  • Tugging the neck forward with the hands
  • Swinging the legs to create momentum
  • Holding your breath during the upward phase
  • Lifting the lower back off the floor

Muscles Worked

Primary movers

  • Abs

Stabilizers

  • Obliques
  • Hip Flexors
  • Transverse Abdominis

Related Guides

Abs · Core