Lie supine (on your back) on the floor with your legs straight and your arms held straight by the sides of your head.
Execution
Keeping your arms and legs straight, exhale as you raise your legs and torso and try to touch your toes.
Try to hold the contracted position.
Inhale as you lie back into the starting position.
Repeat.
Comments and tips
Keep the movement slow and controlled.
At the top of the movement, your legs and torso should make the letter V.
To raise your legs and torso, flex your hips and your abdomen. Unless you flex your abdomen, your rectus abdominis will not be targeted. Instead, together with your internal and external obliques, it will only act as a stabilizer of your waist and pelvis. To help you make sure that you flex your abdomen, start each v-up with your upper back making contact with the floor.
The v-up is an advanced core exercise. To make it more difficult, hold a weight plate or medicine ball in your hands.
