Exercise guide
Alternate Heel Touchers
Alternate Heel Touchers are a bodyweight ab exercise performed while lying on your back with your knees bent. You lift your shoulders slightly and reach toward one heel at a time. The short side-to-side motion keeps the abdominals working without requiring equipment.
Training context
Why are Alternate Heel Touchers useful?
The exercise adds side-to-side movement to a small crunch position. Since the shoulders remain raised, the abs stay active while you alternate between the right and left heel.
Heel touchers can be included near the end of a workout, inside a bodyweight circuit, or as part of a short core session. Moving slowly is more useful than rushing to complete as many touches as possible.
Technique overview
Keep the shoulders slightly raised
Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat, and arms beside you. Lift your shoulders a few inches from the floor, then reach one hand toward the same-side heel. Return through the center and repeat on the other side. Keep your neck relaxed, avoid pulling the head forward, and shorten the reach if your lower back begins to lift.
Treat this as an overview and use a range, pace, and setup you can control.