How to Do The V Ups Exercise | Improve Your Posture and Increase Strength

How to Do The V Ups Exercise

• Overview
• How to Do the V Ups
• Benifits of the V Ups

Overview

V ups are one of the advanced abdomen workouts that challenges your strength and flexibility. It’s a great exercise choice if your abs routine is getting dull and no more challenging in the sense that your gains are plateaued.

This particular exercise, unlike other core exercises, requires fewer reps to get those abs on fire. The key, however, is good form, because if your set up and performance are  wrong, you might wind up hurting yourself and not getting the results you are looking for.

This exercise targets most of the core muscles, giving them the strength, shape and improved function. Yet, the part which is activated the most with v ups and will get a whole lot more benefits is the lower abs and the transverse abdominis.

This exercises requires you a different level of endurance from the one you are used to in regular crunches, basic planks or even laying leg raises. This is because you need more coordination between the body parts recruited in order to finish the movement; holding both your arms and legs in the air (Whether touching your hands to your toes or not).

The V ups exercise also requires flexibility in your lower back (Lumbar spine) that allows you to bend in that V shape without experiencing any pain. If you feel pain doing this exercise, then I recommend you work on your lower back flexibility first to avoid any possible injuries.

How to do the V ups

Although it may seem very easy to do the V ups just by watching somebody doing it, it turns out to be very challenging when executed. This is due to lack of proper form and knowledge of the basic steps to follow during each and every single rep. Once the form is on point, you will notice how better you are getting at it. Consider the following steps to get the most out of the exercise:

• Lay on your back on a flat surface
• Your arms can be extended behind your head or up in the air above your face
• While still lying, keep your feet together, slightly raised off the floor
• Tighten your core as you keep your lower back in contact with the floor at all times
• Watch your abdomen, don’t let it push out as you start moving
• Lift your legs simultaneously with your torso, and
• Touch your toes with your hands
• Come back down, letting your arms (Again) behind your head or up in the air
• Repeat the same set up and perform more reps

Benefits of the V Ups

The benefits you can get from the V ups are priceless. However, working them moderately is key to well-being and overall health. Overdoing them or any abs workout may lead to strength and muscles imbalances which in turn cause posture problems and pain. Here are the benefits that you can get from a balanced V ups workout:

1. Improved Posture: Weak core, mainly rectus abdominis (Abs) and transverse abdomins (The wall underneath the abs: discussed in previous blogs) lead to poor posture, imbalances and pain. Strengthening these muscles improves your overall posture, natural body function and performance.

2. Strong and Sculpted Abs: Not only does the V ups strengthen your core to prepare you for other lifts, but it also gives your abs that sharp ripped look.

3. Lower Back Pain relief: Working your core with this exercise corrects your excessive curve in the lumbar spine, and hence eliminates the cause of the pain.

4. Improved balance: Your midsection is quite importance to maintain your balance whether in everyday activities like walking, running and standing or during athletic performance like lifting heavy weights (Squats, deadlift and bench press).