Standing Oblique Crunch
🧍♀️ Standing Abs · updated September 2026
⏱ 45 sec🔁 3 sets of 12/side📶 beginner🌿 low-impact
Targets: the obliques and waistline — no floor, knees or neck involved
How to do it
- 1Stand tall, feet hip-width, right hand behind your head, left arm long at your side.
- 2Lift your right knee out and up to the side while crunching your right elbow down to meet it.
- 3Squeeze the side waist hard at the top, then return tall.
- 4Finish the set, then switch sides.
Form tips
- • Think 'elbow and knee meet in the middle' — both travel.
- • Stay tall between reps; the re-lengthening is half the exercise.
- • Slight bend in the standing knee keeps balance easy.
Common mistakes
- • Just bowing sideways without lifting the knee (that's a stretch, not a crunch).
- • Rushing — balance work rewards a controlled tempo.
- • Holding onto furniture; free balance is part of the core demand.
