Kneeling Cable Crunch With Alternating Oblique Twists — start position
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Kneeling Cable Crunch With Alternating Oblique Twists — end position
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Core / Beginner / Isolation (single joint)

Kneeling Cable Crunch With Alternating Oblique Twists

A cable isolation exercise for the obliques and abs.

At a glance

Primary
Obliques, Abs
Equipment
Cable station
Movement pattern
Trunk rotation, Trunk flexion
Level
Beginner
Type
Core, Isolation (single joint), One side at a time

How to do it

  1. Connect a rope attachment to a high pulley cable and position a mat on the floor in front of it.
  2. Grab the rope with both hands and kneel approximately two feet back from the tower.
  3. Position the rope behind your head with your hands by your ears.
  4. Keep your hands in the same place, contract your abs and pull downward on the rope in a crunching movement until your elbows reach your knees.
  5. Pause briefly at the bottom and rise up in a slow and controlled manner until you reach the starting position.
  6. Repeat the same downward movement until you're halfway down, at which time you'll begin rotating one of your elbows to the opposite knee.
  7. Again, pause briefly at the bottom and rise up in a slow and controlled manner until you reach the starting position.
  8. Repeat the same movement as before, but alternate the other elbow to the opposite knee.
  9. Continue this series of movements to failure.

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Muscles worked

Neck (Front)Upper traps (Front)Front delts (Front)Side delts (Front)Chest (Front)Serratus anterior (Front)Biceps (Front)Forearms & grip (Front)Abs — primary (Front)Obliques — primary (Front)Hip flexors (Front)Quads (Front)Adductors (Front)Shins (tibialis) (Front)Calves (Front)Outer shins (peroneals) (Front)Feet (arch & toes) (Front)Neck (Back)Upper traps (Back)Upper back (rhomboids, mid/lower traps) (Back)Rear delts (Back)Side delts (Back)Rotator cuff (Back)Lats (Back)Lower back (erectors) (Back)Triceps (Back)Forearms & grip (Back)Hip abductors (glute med) (Back)Glutes (Back)Hamstrings (Back)Adductors (Back)Calves (Back)
FrontBack
  • Primary: Obliques, Abs

Best for

How specific this exercise is to each movement.

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Photos and instructions: free-exercise-db (github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db), public domain.