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Exercise library · Abs

V-up

Trunk flexion for the abs with your bodyweight.

How to do it

1 of 3

Lie straight, arms overhead

  1. Starting position

    Lie flat on your back with your legs together and arms extended overhead.

  2. The movement

    Raise your straight legs and torso together, reach your hands toward your feet and lower with control.

Most common mistake

Don't throw your body up with momentum, lift and lower with control without jerking your neck.

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Muscle group
Abs
Equipment
Bodyweight
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Reps

Muscles worked

A V-up is a sit-up and a leg raise at once. The rectus abdominis bends your spine from both ends, and your hip flexors do a large share of lifting both legs and upper body. The obliques keep you steady and your quads keep your legs extended. Balancing on your bum at the top takes coordination as well as strength.

Common mistakes

  • Only one half moves. Often your upper body rises first and your legs lag behind, turning it into a sit-up with a bit of leg raise. Start both together and aim to meet in the middle.
  • You chase the toe touch. With tight hamstrings you round your back and lose balance trying to reach all the way. Reaching your shins or knees is enough, as long as your legs stay straight and the movement controlled.
  • You flop onto the floor between reps. Landing fully relaxed drops all your tension, so each rep starts from scratch. Touch down lightly with your heels and shoulder blades and carry straight on.

Variations and alternatives

  • The toe touch crunch is an easier step, with your legs pointing at the ceiling so only your upper body moves.
  • The seated knee tuck folds you up on a bench with bent knees, useful when straight legs are too much.
  • The hollow rock builds tension in the stretched-out position that V-ups start and finish in.
  • Toes to bar is a harder, hanging relative.

Sets and reps

Three sets of 6 to 15 reps suit most people. Quality decides: once you can no longer lift legs and upper body together, the set is over. Rest one to two minutes between sets. The guide to sets and reps helps you choose a range.

Build up with more reps first, then a one-second pause at the top and a slower lowering. Finally, hold a light dumbbell. That is progressive overload in small steps. If you can only manage a few, finish each set with toe touch crunches once your V-ups stop being clean. Pain in your hip or lower back is a signal to stop, not to grit your teeth, so get a doctor or physiotherapist to look at it.

Also called

  • v up

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Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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