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Exercise guide
Downward Dog Knee Tuck
A moving core drill held in downward dog: the hips stay high while one knee is drawn in under the chest and sent back to the start, alternating sides. The shoulders support the whole set, so the trunk works without the low-hip position of a plank.
What this exercise works
- Muscles
- hip flexors · rectus abdominis · anterior deltoid · serratus anterior · transverse abdominis
- Goals
- endurance · strength
- Equipment
- No equipment
- Category
- Strength
- Difficulty
- intermediate
Demonstration
Step 1
Step 2
How to perform the movement
- Set up in downward dog with the hands shoulder-width apart and the hips high.
- Press the floor away and brace the trunk so the lower back stays long.
- Draw one knee in towards the chest, rounding the upper back slightly as it comes in.
- Extend the leg back to the starting position under control.
- Repeat with the other leg and keep alternating for the desired number of repetitions.
Technique cues and common mistakes
- Keep the hips high; letting them drop turns this into a mountain climber.
- Draw the knee in with the abdominals rather than by hopping off the standing foot.
- Push the shoulders away from the ears so the upper body does not sink between the arms.