Sitting Side Crunch
Sitting Side Crunch Exercise Description
The Sitting Side Crunch is a bodyweight trunk exercise that emphasizes controlled lateral flexion to target the external and internal obliques. Performed seated on the floor, it trains you to shorten one side of the waist while keeping the pelvis steady, reinforcing core control without equipment. The rectus abdominis and quadratus lumborum assist, while spinal stabilizers help maintain posture. Focus on smooth, pain-free ranges and precise side-bending rather than twisting or collapsing forward. This drill is useful for learning to create tension through the side body, coordinating breath with trunk motion, and building awareness of ribcage-over-pelvis alignment in a simple, accessible position.
- Muscle Groups: Abs, Obliques, Waist
- Target Muscles: External Obliques, Internal Obliques
- Assisting Muscles: Quadratus Lumborum, Rectus Abdominis
- Stabilizing Muscles: Iliocostalis, Longissimus, Multifidus, Spinalis, Transversus Abdominis
- Body Area: Upper Body
- Body Parts: Core
- Body Surface: Side
- Body Symmetry: Unilateral
- Equipment: Bodyweight
- Exercise Patterns: Other
- Exercise Type: Strength
- Functional Grouping: Trunk Lateral Flexors, Trunk Rotators
- Joint Involvement: Single-joint
- Muscle Location: Deep Side Abs, Side Abs
- Movement Direction: Lateral
- Muscle Position: Lateral
- Gender: Female
How To Do The Sitting Side Crunch Exercise
‘- Sit on the floor with knees bent, feet flat, hip-width apart. Sit tall on your sit bones, ribs stacked over pelvis.
– Place fingertips lightly at your temples or cross arms over your chest. Keep shoulders relaxed and neck long.
– Create a light abdominal brace (as if preparing to cough) without holding your breath.
– Without rotating, side-bend to the right—draw your right ribcage toward your right hip. Keep the left glute and foot grounded.
– Exhale as you crunch; think “shorten the right waist” while keeping your chest open.
– Inhale and return slowly to a tall, neutral seated position.
– Repeat to the left, keeping both sit bones in contact with the floor throughout.
– Keep elbows wide and avoid pulling on your head. Do not shrug or round forward.
– Use a small-to-moderate range; stop if the pelvis tilts, the opposite hip lifts, or the motion turns into a twist.
Sitting Side Crunch Tips
‘- Sit tall on your sit bones with your ribs stacked directly over your pelvis before you start moving.
– Keep your shoulders relaxed and your neck long to maintain upright posture.
– Place fingertips lightly at your temples or cross your arms, keeping elbows wide and avoiding any pull on your head.
– Create a light abdominal brace as if preparing to cough, but do not hold your breath.
– Focus on pure side-bending—draw your ribcage toward the same-side hip without rotating or twisting.
– Keep the opposite glute, foot, and both sit bones grounded to prevent the pelvis from tilting.
– Exhale as you crunch and think about shortening the side of your waist while keeping your chest open.
– Inhale as you return slowly to a tall, neutral seated position.
– Use a small to moderate range of motion and stop if the pelvis tilts, the opposite hip lifts, or the movement turns into a twist.
– Aim for smooth, pain-free motion and precise side-bending rather than collapsing forward.
Sitting Side Crunch Beginner Introduction
The Sitting Side Crunch is a simple floor-based core move that highlights side-to-side bending of the torso rather than twisting. Done with just bodyweight in a comfortable seated position, it highlights the side abs and waist, with help from the front abs and the muscles along the lower back that support the spine. Because the hips stay anchored while only the upper body leans, the exercise emphasizes steady hips and controlled movement through the trunk instead of big, fast motions.
The action involves gently narrowing the space between the ribs and hip on one side, then returning to an upright, stacked posture before repeating on the other side. The motion stays small and smooth, aiming for comfort rather than strain. Attention to relaxed shoulders, a long neck, and easy breathing turns it into a coordination drill as much as a strength builder. Over time, this can enhance awareness of how the torso moves over the hips and how the side body creates tension without collapsing forward or twisting.