Heel Touches

Muscles worked by the Heel Touches

Primary

ObliquesOblique AbdominalsAbsRectus Abdominis

Also called: oblique, obliques, side abs, external oblique, internal oblique, abs.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Heel Touches

1. Lie on your back with the knees bent and the feet flat on the floor, about hip-width apart.
2. Lift the head and shoulders slightly off the floor and reach the arms down along your sides.
3. Crunch to one side and reach that hand toward the heel on the same side.
4. Return to the center and reach toward the opposite heel.
5. Keep alternating sides in a smooth rhythm while the lower back stays on the floor.
6. Continue for the desired number of repetitions.

Form tips

• Keep the neck long and the chin off the chest; lead with the ribcage, not the head.
• Keep each reach small and controlled; the shoulder blades only just clear the floor.
• Keep the feet planted and the lower back pressed into the floor throughout.

At a glance

Heel Touches in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Bicycle Crunch
• Cable Crunch
• Crunches
• Dead Bug
• Dead Bug Hold
• Decline Crunch
• Dragon Flag
• Kettlebell Russian Twist

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "heel-touches",
  "name_en": "Heel Touches",
  "name_de": "Fersenberühren",
  "name_es": "Toques de Talón",
  "description_en": "A lying core exercise in which you crunch slightly to one side and reach the hand toward the heel, then alternate sides. It trains the obliques and the upper abdominals with the lower back kept on the floor.",
  "description_de": "Eine Rumpfübung im Liegen, bei der du dich mit einem leichten Crunch zu einer Seite rollst und mit der Hand zur Ferse greifst, dann die Seite wechselst. Sie trainiert die schrägen Bauchmuskeln und den oberen Bauch, während der untere Rücken am Boden bleibt.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de core tumbado en el que haces un crunch ligero hacia un lado y llevas la mano hacia el talón, y luego alternas lados. Trabaja los oblicuos y la parte alta del abdomen con la zona lumbar pegada al suelo.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "body_part": "core",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "obliques",
    "rectus_abdominis"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "core_focus",
    "knee_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "crunch",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie on your back with the knees bent and the feet flat on the floor, about hip-width apart.",
    "Lift the head and shoulders slightly off the floor and reach the arms down along your sides.",
    "Crunch to one side and reach that hand toward the heel on the same side.",
    "Return to the center and reach toward the opposite heel.",
    "Keep alternating sides in a smooth rhythm while the lower back stays on the floor.",
    "Continue for the desired number of repetitions."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Leg dich auf den Rücken, die Knie gebeugt und die Füße etwa hüftbreit flach auf dem Boden.",
    "Heb Kopf und Schultern leicht vom Boden ab und streck die Arme seitlich am Körper entlang nach unten.",
    "Mach einen Crunch zu einer Seite und greif mit dieser Hand zur Ferse derselben Seite.",
    "Komm zurück zur Mitte und greif zur gegenüberliegenden Ferse.",
    "Wechsle in einem gleichmäßigen Rhythmus die Seiten, während der untere Rücken am Boden bleibt.",
    "Mach so weiter für die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate boca arriba con las rodillas flexionadas y los pies apoyados en el suelo, a la anchura de las caderas aproximadamente.",
    "Levanta ligeramente la cabeza y los hombros del suelo y estira los brazos a lo largo de los costados.",
    "Haz un crunch hacia un lado y lleva esa mano hacia el talón del mismo lado.",
    "Vuelve al centro y alcanza el talón contrario.",
    "Sigue alternando lados con un ritmo fluido mientras la zona lumbar permanece en el suelo.",
    "Continúa el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep the neck long and the chin off the chest; lead with the ribcage, not the head.",
    "Keep each reach small and controlled; the shoulder blades only just clear the floor.",
    "Keep the feet planted and the lower back pressed into the floor throughout."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte den Nacken lang und das Kinn weg von der Brust; führe die Bewegung mit dem Brustkorb, nicht mit dem Kopf.",
    "Halte jede Bewegung klein und kontrolliert; die Schulterblätter lösen sich nur knapp vom Boden.",
    "Halte die Füße am Boden und den unteren Rücken die ganze Zeit in den Boden gedrückt."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén el cuello largo y la barbilla separada del pecho; guía el movimiento con la caja torácica, no con la cabeza.",
    "Haz cada alcance pequeño y controlado; los omóplatos apenas se despegan del suelo.",
    "Mantén los pies apoyados y la zona lumbar pegada al suelo todo el tiempo."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/heel-touches-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/heel-touches-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "heel-touches");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.