How to Do a Hollow Body Hold: A Beginner's Guide

To do a hollow body hold, lie on your back, press your lower back gently into the floor, then lift your shoulders and legs a little way off the ground and hold that shallow banana shape while you keep breathing. If your lower back starts to lift, bend your knees or raise your legs higher until it stays down. That one rule is most of the skill. Below are the cues, an easier starting point and a simple 4-week plan.

What is a hollow body hold?

The hollow body hold, often just called a hollow hold, is a core exercise borrowed from gymnastics, where it is one of the basic shapes other skills are built on. You lie on your back, lift your arms, shoulders and legs off the floor, and hold your body in a gentle curve, a bit like an upturned dish or a banana. It is an isometric exercise, which means you hold still rather than moving through reps.

You need nothing but a mat, which makes it a favourite in home workouts and HIIT classes. It is harder than it looks, so the easier versions below matter.

What muscles does a hollow body hold work?

Like the dead bug, the hollow hold is an anti-extension exercise: the weight of your arms and legs tries to pull your lower back into an arch, and your job is to stop it. The main muscles are:

• Rectus abdominis. The six-pack muscle at the front, which keeps your ribs pulled down and your back from arching.
• Transverse abdominis. A deep muscle that wraps around your waist like a belt and helps keep your middle stiff.
• Obliques. The muscles down your sides, which help hold the whole shape steady.
• Hip flexors and quads. They hold your legs up and keep your knees straight. You will feel them, but they should not be doing all the work.
• Shoulders. Reaching your arms overhead adds a little shoulder work and makes the hold much harder.

If the hollow hold feels too hard right now, start with our guide on how to do a dead bug, which teaches the same back position with less load.

How do you do a hollow body hold with good form?

These cues build the full version step by step. Stop at whichever step is the hardest you can hold with your back flat. That is your level for now.

• Lie down. Lie on your back on a mat with your knees bent, feet flat and arms by your sides.
• Set your back. Gently draw your ribs down towards your hips and tilt your pelvis slightly so your lower back rests on the floor. It should stay there for the whole hold.
• Tuck your legs. Lift one leg at a time until your knees are above your hips, bent to about 90 degrees.
• Lift your shoulders. Tuck your chin slightly, as if holding an orange under it, and curl your head and shoulder blades just off the floor. Reach your hands towards your feet.
• Lengthen. Slowly straighten your legs out at an angle and take your arms back alongside your ears. Only go as far as your lower back stays down. Higher legs are easier, lower legs are harder.
• Squeeze. Keep your legs together, point your toes and tighten your thighs.
• Breathe. Take short, steady breaths through your nose or out through pursed lips. Do not hold your breath.
• Come down with control. When the time is up, or your back starts to lift, bend your knees back in, lower your head and shoulders, and rest.

A practical check: slide a folded towel under your lower back and keep light pressure on it throughout. If the pressure disappears, your back has arched, so bend your knees, raise your legs or bring your arms forward.

What is the best hollow body hold progression for beginners?

The hollow hold gets harder the further your arms and legs reach away from your middle, so the ladder works by lengthening the shape one step at a time. Start on the first rung where you can hold for 15 seconds with your back staying flat.

• Rung 1: Tuck hold. Knees bent over your hips, head and shoulders lifted, hands reaching towards your feet. This is the best starting point for most people.
• Rung 2: Tuck hold, arms overhead. Same legs, but take your arms back alongside your ears. Keep your ribs down as your arms move.
• Rung 3: Single-leg hollow. From the tuck, straighten one leg out at an angle while the other stays bent. Switch legs halfway through the hold.
• Rung 4: Full hollow body hold. Both legs straight and arms overhead. Start with your legs high, then lower them over the weeks as your back allows.
• Rung 5: Hollow rocks. Hold the full hollow shape and rock gently from your shoulder blades to your hips and back, like a rocking chair. The shape should not change at all. If it does, go back to rung 4.

Move up a rung when you can do 3 holds of about 30 seconds at your current level with your back flat on every one. A clean tuck hold beats a full hollow hold with an arching back every time.

Is a hollow body hold better than a plank?

Neither is better. Both ask your core to stop your back sagging or arching, one face down and one face up. Most beginners find a plank easier to learn (our guide on how to do a plank properly covers it), while the hollow hold is harder to do well and gives clear feedback through the floor under your back. Using both in the same week works well.

What are the most common hollow body hold mistakes, and how do you fix them?

• Lower back arching off the floor. The big one. The shape is too long for your strength today. Bend your knees, raise your legs or bring your arms forward until your back settles.
• Legs too low, too soon. Low legs only count if your back stays down. Raise them.
• Holding your breath. Keep breathing in short, steady breaths. If you cannot breathe, the version is too hard.
• Straining your neck. Tuck your chin slightly without jamming it into your chest. If your neck aches, rest your head on the floor.
• Feeling it mostly in your hips or lower back. That usually means your stomach has switched off. Go up a little, or back to the tuck hold.
• Chasing the clock. A shaky minute with your back arched teaches the wrong thing. Stop the hold when your form goes, not when the timer does.

If you have back pain, or the hollow hold causes pain in your lower back, stop and speak to your GP or a physio before carrying on.

How long should you hold a hollow body hold?

• Starting out. 3 to 4 holds of 10 to 20 seconds, resting 30 to 60 seconds between them.
• Building up. 3 holds of 20 to 30 seconds.
• A good milestone. A clean 30-second full hollow hold is a solid goal for most beginners. Longer holds are fine once that feels steady.
• Hollow rocks. 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 15 small, controlled rocks.
• How often. 2 to 3 times a week is plenty. A full session takes about five minutes.

What does a 4-week beginner hollow body hold plan look like?

Do this two or three times a week with a day in between, resting 30 to 60 seconds between holds. If a week feels too hard, repeat it.

If you are not at a full hollow by the end of week 4, stay on the tuck or single-leg version for another week or two. That is completely normal. Filming yourself from the side is a quick way to check your back stays down.

How does the hollow body hold fit into a hybrid week with running?

Easily. It asks very little of your legs and takes a few minutes, so it slots in around your runs.

• After an easy run. Add a five-minute core block while you are still warm: a few hollow holds, a set of dead bugs and a side plank on each side.
• Before a strength session. One or two short holds in your warm-up get your middle switched on before squats, presses or pull-ups.
• At the end of a HIIT session. Hollow rocks make a short, tough finisher once your main circuit is done.

The one thing to avoid is a hard core session right before a long run or a fast session, when you want your trunk fresh. For more moves to pair it with, see our round-up of the best core exercises for beginners.

Will hollow holds make you a faster runner on their own? Probably not. A steadier middle may help some runners hold their form when tired, but the evidence is mixed, so treat it as one piece of a joined-up plan alongside your running, leg strength and recovery. That is how Edge works: running, strength, HIIT and mobility sit in one personalised plan, so your core work lands on the right days.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.