How many reps of the body saw should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Start with 2 sets of 6 to 8 slow slides, keeping the range short enough that the low back never wants to arch. Add range in small amounts before you add reps, since a longer saw is a much bigger jump in difficulty than one more rep.

What can I use instead of sliders or a TRX for the body saw?

Folded towels or paper plates work on a smooth floor, and furniture sliders or even socks on hardwood are a fine substitute if you have no gym gear. Without any sliding surface at all, do a plank reach-out instead, which trains a similar anti-extension demand.

What does the body saw train and when should you choose a simpler plank instead?

It keeps the core under continuous tension through a changing lever length, which builds anti-extension strength past what a static plank hold can reach. Choose a standard plank instead if you cannot yet hold one for 45 to 60 seconds without your hips sagging, since the saw only adds difficulty to a base that is not solid yet.

Intermediate

Body Saw

By sliding your body backward until your shoulders sit well behind your elbows, the body saw lengthens the lever and spikes the load on the abs right at the end of each rep. The slow saw forward and back keeps the core under continuous tension rather than a static hold, which many lifters find more productive than adding plank time. Use foot sliders, towels on a smooth floor, or suspension straps.

Equipment: Sliders, TRX
Body part: Abs
Type: Functional, Strength
Browse by muscle: Upper Rectus Abdominals, Lower Rectus Abdominals
Browse by movement: Core Brace

How to do it

1
Set up in a forearm plank with your feet on sliders or in suspension straps.
2
Brace hard and flatten your low back before you move.
3
Push through your forearms to slide your whole body backward.
4
Go only as far as you can hold a neutral spine.
5
Pull yourself forward again until your shoulders are over your elbows.
6
Keep the rhythm slow and the hips level throughout.

Tips

Drive the motion from your shoulders and lats, not by bending at the hips.
Stop the backward slide the instant your low back wants to arch.
Keep the range short at first; the far position is where most people lose the brace.

Variations

Common mistakes

The hips pike up and back to reach extra distance, which fakes a longer saw by folding at the hip instead of sliding the shoulders back.
The feet splay wide on the sliders for extra stability, which drains tension from the midline the exercise is built to challenge.
Once fatigue sets in, the tempo speeds into a quick shuffle back and forth instead of one slow, continuous slide each way, cutting the time under tension roughly in half.
The elbows drift wide of the shoulders as fatigue sets in, which lets the chest sink and takes stability away from the upper back.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the body saw should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Start with 2 sets of 6 to 8 slow slides, keeping the range short enough that the low back never wants to arch. Add range in small amounts before you add reps, since a longer saw is a much bigger jump in difficulty than one more rep.
What can I use instead of sliders or a TRX for the body saw?: Folded towels or paper plates work on a smooth floor, and furniture sliders or even socks on hardwood are a fine substitute if you have no gym gear. Without any sliding surface at all, do a plank reach-out instead, which trains a similar anti-extension demand.
What does the body saw train and when should you choose a simpler plank instead?: It keeps the core under continuous tension through a changing lever length, which builds anti-extension strength past what a static plank hold can reach. Choose a standard plank instead if you cannot yet hold one for 45 to 60 seconds without your hips sagging, since the saw only adds difficulty to a base that is not solid yet.

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