V-Up Exercise

What Is a V-Up?

V-up exercises: what are they? A core exercise that targets both the upper and lower abdominals is the V-up. You must use your core muscles to simultaneously raise your arms and legs off the ground. The proper V-ups shape resembles the letter “V.” You lift your legs as if you were performing leg raises and elevate your chest as if you were performing a sit-up.

You may perform V-ups exercises with or without weights. To be able to properly align your pelvis and spine, they are crucial for developing core stability. Additionally, a stronger core promotes stability, balance, and proper posture, all of which reduce lower back pain.

V-Up Muscles Worked

The rectus abdominis, which extends from just below the ribs to the pelvis, is the main muscle used during V-ups. Its primary function is to crush the torso, bringing the chest closer to the hips. In addition to stabilizing the torso, the rectus abdominis helps the hip flexors raise our legs during workouts like V-ups.

During V-ups, other midsection muscles, including the transverse abdominis and obliques, also function, mostly to maintain our stability. In a similar vein, torso stiffness can be affected by the back muscles.

During V-ups, the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes support our legs and raise them off the ground. The muscles in our upper back and shoulders (deltoids) raise our arms to the ceiling and behind our bodies.

V-Up Exercise Video

How to do a V-Up?

• With your arms stretched behind your head, your legs straight, and your feet together, lie on the floor. Your upper back, shoulders, head, forearms, butt, thighs, and heels should all be touching the ground.
• Inhale deeply, contract your core, and start the exercise by lifting your torso and legs simultaneously.
• Keep your arms parallel to your upper body as you raise your legs and torso.
• As the repetition comes to a close, gently touch your shins with your fingertips while allowing your arms to bend toward your legs.
• Return to the beginning posture gradually as you exhale.
• Repeat after taking another breath.

Variations and Modifications of the V Up

Bent-Knee V Up
A simpler form with several advantages is the bent-knee V-up. The goal is to elevate your legs and body while keeping your knees bent, unlike standard V-ups. This makes the exercise more accessible to beginners by requiring less stability and core strength.

Alternating Leg V Up
One version that involves lifting one leg at a time is the alternating leg V-up. For example, you raise your left leg to the ceiling and elevate your body. After that, you go back to the beginning, crunch once more, and raise your right leg.

V-Up Hold
Another easy exercise for beginners that increases isometric strength and whole-body stability is the V-up hold. Put yourself in the beginning position, raise your legs and body to the ceiling, and brace your core. Hold for five to thirty seconds after reaching the highest position, then let go.

Benefits of V-Ups

Because there are so many variants, V-up routines are suitable for athletes of all skill levels and can be performed practically anywhere. Additional advantages of V-ups include:

• Strength of the core. Exercises, including V-ups, focus on the rectus abdominis, obliques, and hip flexors. You’ll develop these muscles and begin to notice definition in your abs if you perform the exercises regularly and correctly.
• improved stability and balance. To perform V-ups correctly, you must stabilize your adductors and core. It helps in building the stability muscles required for improved overall balance. Improved sports performance and fewer injuries are additionally related to better balance and core stability.
• improved wellness of the lower back. A weak core raises the risk of injury by putting greater strain on your back to support your torso. You may relieve some of the strain on your lower back by strengthening your core.

Mistakes to Avoid

Performing repetitions too rapidly during V-ups is a typical error that can cause instability, relieve muscular tension, and lessen the exercise’s effectiveness. The goal is to perform repetitions with flexibility and control so that you can feel your muscles contract.

It is much better to perform fewer but slower repetitions than quickly finishing the exercise in an attempt to reach a fixed rep target.

Rocking back and forth is another V-up mistake. Although it’s not harmful, doing so reduces the effectiveness of the workout and keeps you from getting the most out of your abs. By performing repetitions gently and managing your body throughout, you may avoid this mistake.

The third mistake with V-ups involves allowing your muscles to relax as you decrease. Many trainees would perfectly do the first half of a V-up, then “unfold” and return to the beginning position by relaxing their muscles.

By doing this, they are unable to fully use the eccentric (negative) component of each repetition, which reduces the effectiveness of the action. Keeping your muscles straight during each repetition can help you avoid the mistake.

FAQs

References

• Stefanov, P. (2025, May 29). V Up: How-to, tips, variations, mistakes & Alternatives. Hevy – #1 Workout Tracker & Planner Gym Log App. https://www.hevyapp.com/exercises/how-to-v-up/
• Twu, A. (2024, December 8). How to do V-Ups. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/how-to-do-v-ups