Hollow Hold: How To Do It, Benefits, Variations & Techniques

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December 31, 2021

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Core strength is essential for injury prevention and fitness. Do you want to challenge your entire core? Abs and obliques? A hollow hold is a suitable option for you. It is the best home exercise as it requires no special equipment. This isometric exercise has your abs on fire, and though it sounds simple, this move is challenging. However, it is worth the effort when you make it easy. Read more about the form tips and variations to make it simple. Let us discuss what is hollow hold exercise is and how to perform it stepwise.

Who Can Perform The Hollow Hold Exercise?

Anybody can perform the hollow hold exercise efficiently, whatever may be their fitness levels. Therefore, the hollow body hold benefits both beginners and advanced individuals. Most importantly, being a compound move, it strengthens the muscles around the spine with shear and compressive force. It is an ideal workout for athletes as it offers them more control and helps them stay away from injuries.
The hollow rock move aims at the rectus abdominis, commonly called the six-pack, to build a very aesthetic physique. This makes the exercise suitable for bodybuilders to train their abs better than any other workout.

Stepwise Instructions To Perform Hollow Hold Exercise

The highlighting feature of a hollow body hold exercise is how to execute it effortlessly in two steps.

Step 1

Lie with the face up on the ground and have your feet together. Set up the exercise position by lifting the feet at least four inches off the floor. Now bring your arms over the head so that your biceps are near the ears. Contract the core by pressing the lower back on the ground. With the legs off the ground, raise your arms so that you feel your core contract effectively. A tip to perform properly is to tuck the chin so that the spine is neutral.

Step 2

Now gently rock your body forward, holding the position firmly. Keep your arms suspended with the legs lifted off the ground continuously. You can increase the range of motion as you start to feel comfortable with the position. However, maintain the constant tension on the core during the entire hollow hold workout and ensure that both heels and hands do not touch the floor. Do not rock hard, and in case you feel any tension on the lower back, make sure that you decrease the range of motion.

Hollow Body Hold Benefits

There are two significant benefits of the hollow hold exercise, and they are:

It improves the body balance and allows you to stay stable during other complex fitness moves. Therefore, this is a prerequisite for workouts like handstand push-ups, dips, frog jumps and pull-ups.
This workout has a midline control. Unlike other ab exercises, it allows you to keep your spine neutral and helps you hold the position efficiently. The hollow hold results are similar to the plank hold as the muscles stabilise without a body rotation. Eventually, the hollow body hold exercise helps build a more effective functional body core strength.

What Are The Hollow Rock Variations?

As you master the standard hollow body workout, you can further challenge yourself by trying some modifications. Add weights to your hollow body exercise with dumbbells or kettlebells. This makes them more complex and will build more stability. However, you will require more core tension to perform and balance the weight by rocking forward. To move backwards, you need more body balance.You can identify your potential by flexing your torso. If you are rotating in the middle of the workout, then it means that you are not yet prepared to perform it. Some of the variations include:

Add a flutter kick to the hollow hold ab workout. Besides working the abs, it will strengthen the legs.
Place your arms behind the head by interlacing fingers to perform a hammock. This will offer better support to the body and remove pressure from the neck muscles.

What Are The Effective Alternatives To Hollow Hold Exercise?

You can add a few alternatives to your fitness routine for a change instead of performing the hollow hold continuously, as these provide the same result as the hollow hold ab workout.

1. Front Plank Extended Version

Extended plank is a more complicated version of the front plank. You have to reach your arms forward, as its name suggests, to develop an increased tension on the core.

2. V-Up

This exercise is more like a hollow hold workout, but you have to raise and lower your arm continuously. The rectus abdominis gets engaged better than it does with a standard hollow body exercise with the extra up and down motion. You can start by doing it with a limited range of motion, and then with time, reach higher and aim to ace the move. V-up gives better mobility and improves ab strength.

3. Body Saw

The body saw is a plank variation that adds more core strength as it is done with a forward movement. It increases the body stability and endurance as it helps work the muscles without putting significant pressure on the lower back.

Tips And Techniques To Ace A Hollow Body Exercise

A few of the tips to perform a hollow hold exercise effortlessly without causing any strain to the body are:

Count the rocking motion as a single rep and do it slower.
A hollow body workout is ideal to be done either as a warm-up or cool-down routine in your fitness schedule. When included in a warm-up exercise, you can perform 2 sets with 10 to 15 reps. But if you intend to increase muscle and core strength, you can include them as your main workout. In such an instance, try doing 4 sets with 10 to 15 reps each. Bear in mind that the more volume you do, the better you will work your abs and sculpt them.

So, as we wrap up, you would have understood what is hollow hold exercise, along with the benefits. This exercise is the best means to stabilise the core, and it is crucial to maintain a proper form while performing it. However, when done without any error, you will improve your core strength effectively and eventually witness a reduction in backache, better body balance, and improved posture.

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