Otis-Up
Trains the Abs.
- Equipment
- A weight plate
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, holding a weight plate against your chest with both hands.
- Anchor the feet under something or have a partner hold them.
- Curl the trunk up into a sit-up, and as you rise, press the plate straight up towards the ceiling.
- Finish sitting tall with the arms locked and the plate directly overhead.
- Lower the plate back to the chest as you uncurl the trunk to the floor.
- Repeat, timing the press so it finishes as the sit-up finishes.
Common mistakes
- Pressing the plate before sitting up. The press and the sit-up happen together; pressing first from the floor is just a floor press.
- Letting the plate drift forward. It finishes over the shoulders; a plate pressed out in front pulls the trunk forward and strains the lower back.
- Yanking with the hip flexors. The trunk curls up from the ribs and the feet are anchored for stability, not to be pulled against.
- Dropping back to the floor. The lowering is as controlled as the rise, with the plate returning to the chest along the same path.