elbow-to-knee: technique and muscles worked

How to do this exercise

Step:1 Start by lying flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
Step:2 Place your hands behind your head with your elbows pointing outwards.
Step:3 Engage your abs and lift your upper body off the ground, bringing your right elbow towards your left knee.
Step:4 At the same time, bring your left knee towards your right elbow, creating a twisting motion.
Step:5 Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your upper body and extend your legs back to the starting position.
Step:6 Repeat the movement, this time bringing your left elbow towards your right knee and your right knee towards your left elbow.
Step:7 Continue alternating sides for the desired number of repetitions.

Equipment: Body weight
Body part: Abdominals
Target muscle: Rectus abdominis Internal obliques External obliques
Secondary muscle: Quadriceps Gluteus maximus Transverse abdominis

Hypertrophy grade

Average5 / 10

Nemeo’s take

The bicycle crunch effectively mobilizes the rectus abdominis and obliques thanks to its dynamic cross movement, but remains limited in constant muscular tension and in the potential for progressive overload. The difficulty depends (too much) on the core and coordination, which reduces its isolation capacity compared to weighted crunches or hanging leg raises. Good choice for endurance and activation but quickly plateaus for serious hypertrophy.

This catalog score reflects Nemeo’s assessment of the exercise’s muscle-building potential. It is not a standardized scientific rating or a personalized recommendation.

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elbow-to-knee

How to do this exercise

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