Hollow Hold
Trains the Abs.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Static
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Lie on your back with your arms stretched overhead and your legs straight and together.
- Press your lower back flat into the floor and brace your stomach.
- Lift your shoulders, arms and legs a few inches off the floor at the same time, keeping the lower back pressed down.
- Point your toes and reach long through your arms, so your body makes a shallow dish shape.
- Look toward your toes rather than the ceiling, which keeps the chin slightly tucked.
- Hold while breathing steadily, and lower everything together as soon as the lower back starts to lift.
Common mistakes
- Letting the lower back arch off the floor. That is the stomach letting go, and the hold has ended even if the legs are still up; bending the knees or bringing the arms to your sides makes the position short enough to keep.
- Lifting the legs high to make it easier. Legs pointed at the ceiling are easy to hold because their weight sits over the hips; the lower they hover, the harder the trunk works, and a low hold with a flat back beats a high one.
- Pulling the head up with the neck. The shoulders leave the floor because the trunk curls, not because the chin is pushed toward the chest.
- Holding the breath. The skill is keeping the brace while breathing, the same one a plank teaches, and a hold that only lasts as long as one breath is not teaching it.