Butt-ups are a bodyweight exercise targeting the abdominal muscles. The movement involves lying on your back, lifting your legs towards your chest, and engaging your core to raise your hips off the ground. This exercise also works the hip flexors and lower back as secondary muscles.
Also Works
Hip FlexorsLower Back
How to Perform
1
Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
2
Place your hands by your sides, palms facing down.
3
Engaging your abs, lift your legs off the ground, bringing your knees towards your chest.
4
At the top of the movement, squeeze your abs and pause for a moment.
5
Slowly lower your legs back down to the starting position.
6
Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Pro Tips
•Press your lower back into the floor and use your abs to curl your knees toward your chest, lifting the hips off the ground.
•Keep the movement small and controlled rather than using leg momentum to swing your hips up.
•Exhale forcefully as you lift your hips to maximize abdominal contraction.
Common Mistakes
•Using momentum to rock the hips up instead of deliberately contracting the lower abs.
•Pressing down with the hands too hard, which lets the arms do the work instead of the abs.
•Extending the legs too far at the bottom, causing the lower back to arch off the ground.