Butt-Ups

Execution

1. Start with your body in one straight line from shoulders to heels, bracing your abs and glutes so your low back does not sag.
2. Exhale, squeeze the abs hard and lift your hips up toward the ceiling, letting your back round into an inverted-V shape.
3. Keep your forearms and toes planted in the same spot throughout the lift.
4. Hold for a beat at the top, squeezing the abs a little more.
5. Inhale and lower the hips back down under control to the starting plank.

Quick cues

• Lift the hips with the abs.
• Forearms stay planted.
• Top position looks like an upside-down V.
• Lower under control, no dropping.

Common faults

• Fault: Lifting the hips by walking the feet closer to the hands

  Fix: Keep the feet planted in place and use the abs alone to lift the hips.

• Fault: The knees bending as the hips rise

  Fix: Keep the legs straight through the movement, letting only the hips fold up.

• Fault: Letting the hips drop freely back into the plank

  Fix: Count 2 seconds on the way down so the abs control the whole motion.

• Fault: The forearms sliding out of position during the set

  Fix: Press the forearms firmly into the floor and brace the shoulders before each lift.