Suspended Reverse Crunch
The suspended reverse crunch hooks your feet into suspension straps while your hands stay on the floor in a plank. From there you pull your knees toward your chest using your abdominals instead of your hip flexors. It's a beginner-friendly core move for anyone with a suspension trainer who wants more than a standard floor crunch.
Why it works
Curling the hips toward the ribs is the abdominals' job, and keeping the straps from swinging while you do it adds a stability demand a floor crunch doesn't have. Your shoulders and upper back have to hold the plank steady while your abs do the pulling, so the exercise trains the abdominals and the core's ability to stay still under movement at the same time. Keeping the knees bent through the whole rep also matters: a bent knee shortens the hip flexors so they can't take over the lift, which pushes more of the work onto the abdominals instead.
Set up
- Adjust the straps so the loops sit at ankle or mid-shin height.
- Hook both feet into the loops and walk your hands out into a plank position, shoulders over wrists.
- Set your feet about hip-width apart and square your hips to the floor.
- Brace your core before pulling your knees in.
How to do it
- Start in a plank with feet suspended and your body in a straight line.
- Pull your knees toward your chest by curling your hips up and forward, not by swinging.
- Keep your lower back from rounding sharply; the movement comes from the hips tucking, not the spine collapsing.
- Pause briefly once your knees are under your hips.
- Extend your legs back out under control until you're back in the starting plank.
- Keep your hands planted and your shoulders stacked over your wrists throughout.
Form cues
- Drive your knees toward your chest, not your hips toward the ceiling.
- Keep your hips low on the way out, don't let them pike up early.
- Control the return just as much as the pull-in.
- Keep your shoulders stacked over your wrists the whole rep.
Breathing: Exhale as you pull your knees toward your chest, inhale as you extend back to the plank. Avoid holding your breath at the top of the pull; a held breath often shows up as a sudden hip pike instead of a smooth curl.
Common mistakes
Piking the hips up toward the ceiling instead of curling the knees forward.
Fix: Focus on drawing the knees toward the chest while keeping the hips closer to shoulder height.
Using a swinging momentum to fling the knees in.
Fix: Slow the tempo down so the abdominals, not momentum, do the work.
Letting the lower back sag between reps.
Fix: Keep your core braced in the starting plank before every pull.
Rushing the return to the starting position.
Fix: Extend your legs back out slowly to keep tension on the abs through the full rep.
Letting the knees drift wide apart as they come in.
Fix: Keep the knees traveling in line with the hips so the pull stays centered through the abdominals.
How to program it
- As a bodyweight ab isolation move, 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps fits well at the end of a session.
- Because the resistance is only a portion of bodyweight, it tolerates 2 to 3 sessions a week without the fatigue cost of loaded core work.
- Use it as a core finisher after your main lifts, since it doesn't need fresh grip or shoulder strength.
- Once 15 controlled reps feel easy, slow the tempo down further or add a short pause at full knee tuck before reaching for added resistance elsewhere.
Safety notes
- Skip this if plank position already bothers your wrists; a padded surface or fists instead of flat palms can help.
- Stop if you feel strain in the lower back rather than the abs, and shorten the range of motion.
- Keep the straps at a length that lets your knees clear the floor comfortably at full tuck, so you're not cutting the rep short to avoid a knee strike.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Pull
- Mechanics
- Isolation
- Category
- Strength
Frequently asked questions
How many reps of suspended reverse crunches should I do?
2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 controlled reps is a solid starting target; add reps before you add speed.
Can I do reverse crunches without a suspension trainer?
Yes, the regular reverse crunch done lying on the floor trains the same muscles without any straps.
Suspended reverse crunch vs regular reverse crunch, what's different?
The muscle targeted is the same, but the suspended version adds a plank hold that demands more shoulder and core stability throughout the movement.
Why does my lower back hurt during this exercise?
Lower back strain usually means the hips are piking up instead of the knees curling toward the chest; shorten the range and focus the pull through the abs.
How is this different from a hanging knee raise?
A hanging knee raise pulls the knees up while your whole body hangs from a bar, so your grip and shoulders carry your full bodyweight; the suspended reverse crunch keeps your hands on the floor, which removes the grip demand and makes it a more accessible, beginner-friendly option.