10 Best Toe Touchers Alternatives for Core Strength & Rehab

Toe Touchers are done lying on your back. Ranked closest by our scoring: the Lying Elbow To Knee, Alternate Heel Touchers and the Elbow-to-knee.

Toe Touchers

Each substitute is scored on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. Read how we rank alternatives

How to Do Toe Touchers

The steps for Toe Touchers themselves, so you can judge how close each substitute below really is.

Abdominals · Bodyweight · Beginner · Isolation

  1. To begin, lie down on the floor or an exercise mat with your back pressed against the floor. Your arms should be lying across your sides with the palms facing down.
  2. Your legs should be touching each other. Slowly elevate your legs up in the air until they are almost perpendicular to the floor with a slight bend at the knees. Your feet should be parallel to the floor.
  3. Move your arms so that they are fully extended at a 45 degree angle from the floor. This is the starting position.
  4. While keeping your lower back pressed against the floor, slowly lift your torso and use your hands to try and touch your toes. Remember to exhale while perform this part of the exercise.
  5. Slowly begin to lower your torso and arms back down to the starting position while inhaling. Remember to keep your arms straight out pointing towards your toes.
  6. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

The 10 Best Toe Touchers Alternatives

10 substitutes, ranked by how closely each one matches Toe Touchers on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. The higher the score, the less you change. Cards with a "How to perform it" link open to show the steps; every card title links to that exercise's own alternatives page. Harder versions are tagged as progressions and kept out of the top spot even when they score higher.

  1. Lying Elbow To KneePlay demonstration

    1. Lying Elbow To Knee

    79% match

    Abs · Intermediate · Isolation

    A looser match: it uses the same equipment, but it works the abs rather than the abdominals.

    • Bodyweight
    How to perform it
    1. Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
    2. Place your hands behind your head with your elbows pointing outwards.
    3. Engage your abs and lift your upper body off the ground, bringing your right elbow towards your left knee.
    4. At the same time, extend your right leg straight out and lift it off the ground.
    5. Pause for a moment, then return to the starting position.
    6. Repeat the movement, this time bringing your left elbow towards your right knee and extending your left leg.
    7. Continue alternating sides for the desired number of repetitions.

    Sets and reps: 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps on each side, and add reps before you add load.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: abs, not abdominals
    • Equipment: bodyweight only, the same as Toe Touchers
    • Body position: lying on your back, the same as Toe Touchers

  8. Progression

    8. Bottoms-up

    71% match

    Abs · Intermediate · Isolation

Toe Touchers FAQ

Can I build muscle without doing Toe Touchers?

Yes. You can develop the rectus abdominis with a range of bodyweight options, hollow holds for time under tension, slow V-ups for concentric-eccentric overload, and controlled curl-and-reach crunches for peak contraction. Focus on progressive overload through reps, tempo, and range of motion while maintaining tight core bracing.

Find Alternatives for Any Exercise

Search the exercise database and filter the ranked substitutes by the equipment you own.