Hollow Body Hold

Muscles worked by the Hollow Body Hold

Primary

AbsRectus Abdominis

Secondary

Hip FlexorsHip Flexor MusclesObliquesOblique AbdominalsDeep CoreTransversus Abdominis

Also called: abs, six-pack, rectus abdominis, abdominals, stomach muscles.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Hollow Body Hold

1. Lie on your back with arms extended overhead and legs straight.
2. Press the lower back firmly into the floor.
3. Lift the shoulders, head, and legs slightly off the floor.
4. Hold the position with arms and legs extended, body in a shallow banana shape.
5. Hold for the prescribed time.

Form tips

• Keep the lower back glued to the floor — if it lifts, raise the legs higher.
• Tuck the chin slightly to engage the upper abs.
• Bend the knees to scale if the position breaks.

At a glance

Hollow Body Hold in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Dead Hang
• Front Lever
• Human Flag
• L Sit
• Planche
• Ring Dead Hang
• V-Sit
• Ab Wheel Rollout

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "hollow-body-hold",
  "name_en": "Hollow Body Hold",
  "name_de": "Hollow Body Hold",
  "name_es": "Mantenimiento del Cuerpo Hueco",
  "description_en": "An isometric core hold borrowed from gymnastics, training total-body tension with the spine in a slight C-shape.",
  "description_de": "Eine isometrische Rumpfstellung aus dem Turnen, die Ganzkörperspannung mit leichter C-Form der Wirbelsäule trainiert.",
  "description_es": "Un mantenimiento isométrico de core de la gimnasia, que entrena la tensión de cuerpo completo con la columna en ligera forma de C.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "body_part": "core",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "rectus_abdominis"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "hip_flexors",
    "obliques",
    "transverse_abdominis"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "core_focus",
    "calisthenics"
  ],
  "variation_group": "static-hold",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie on your back with arms extended overhead and legs straight.",
    "Press the lower back firmly into the floor.",
    "Lift the shoulders, head, and legs slightly off the floor.",
    "Hold the position with arms and legs extended, body in a shallow banana shape.",
    "Hold for the prescribed time."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Lege dich auf den Rücken, Arme über dem Kopf gestreckt, Beine gerade.",
    "Drücke den unteren Rücken fest in den Boden.",
    "Hebe Schultern, Kopf und Beine leicht vom Boden ab.",
    "Halte die Position mit gestreckten Armen und Beinen, Körper in flacher Bananenform.",
    "Halte für die vorgegebene Zeit."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Acuéstate boca arriba con los brazos extendidos sobre la cabeza y las piernas rectas.",
    "Presiona la zona lumbar firmemente contra el suelo.",
    "Levanta ligeramente los hombros, la cabeza y las piernas del suelo.",
    "Mantén la posición con brazos y piernas extendidos, cuerpo en forma de plátano poco profundo.",
    "Sostén durante el tiempo indicado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep the lower back glued to the floor — if it lifts, raise the legs higher.",
    "Tuck the chin slightly to engage the upper abs.",
    "Bend the knees to scale if the position breaks."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte den unteren Rücken fest am Boden — wenn er sich hebt, hebe die Beine höher.",
    "Ziehe das Kinn leicht zur Brust, um die oberen Bauchmuskeln zu aktivieren.",
    "Beuge die Knie zur Skalierung, wenn die Position bricht."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén la zona lumbar pegada al suelo — si se levanta, sube más las piernas.",
    "Mete ligeramente la barbilla para activar los abdominales superiores.",
    "Flexiona las rodillas para escalar si la posición se rompe."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/hollow-body-hold-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "hollow-body-hold");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.