How much weight should you use for the weighted hollow body hold when you are new to the exercise?

A 5 to 10 pound plate for 3 rounds of 15 to 20 seconds is plenty to start. Only add weight once the unweighted hollow hold is solid for 30 seconds and the low back never lifts.

What can you hold instead of a plate for this exercise?

A light dumbbell held with both hands or a filled water jug both work, or drop the load and do the bodyweight hollow body hold.

What is the weighted hollow body hold good for?

It raises the leverage on the hollow position for lifters who've outgrown the bodyweight version, building the rigid midsection that transfers to gymnastics, pressing, and heavy lifts. It's a poor choice for anyone who still loses the flat low back in the unweighted hold, since adding weight only makes that fault worse.

Intermediate

Weighted Hollow Body Hold

The hollow body position trains the whole front of the trunk to resist extension while keeping the low back pinned to the floor, and adding a plate in the hands raises the leverage sharply. It builds the rigid midsection that transfers force in gymnastics, pressing, and heavy lifts. Progress from the bodyweight hollow only once you can hold a flat low back consistently.

Equipment: Plate
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
Lie on your back holding a light plate over your chest with straight arms.
2
Press your low back into the floor and brace your abs hard.
3
Lift your shoulder blades and your legs a few inches off the floor into a shallow banana shape.
4
Reach the plate back overhead as far as you can while keeping the low back flat.
5
Hold this hollow position for the target time, then lower with control.

Tips

The low back must stay glued to the floor; if it lifts, raise your legs higher or use a lighter plate.
Keep your ribs pulled down toward your hips rather than flaring the chest.
Point your toes and squeeze your legs together to keep the whole body tight.

Variations

Common mistakes

The plate creeps back only partway overhead instead of reaching as far as the shoulders allow, shrinking the lever that makes this version harder than the bodyweight hold.
The elbows bend to make holding the plate easier, which shortens the reach and quietly turns the exercise back into the unweighted version.
Choosing a plate heavy enough to shake the arms also shakes the low back off the floor, since the extra weight has to go somewhere once the abs give out.
Setting the plate down hard and fast between rounds instead of a controlled lower risks it slipping off the hands right over the face.

Frequently asked

How much weight should you use for the weighted hollow body hold when you are new to the exercise?: A 5 to 10 pound plate for 3 rounds of 15 to 20 seconds is plenty to start. Only add weight once the unweighted hollow hold is solid for 30 seconds and the low back never lifts.
What can you hold instead of a plate for this exercise?: A light dumbbell held with both hands or a filled water jug both work, or drop the load and do the bodyweight hollow body hold.
What is the weighted hollow body hold good for?: It raises the leverage on the hollow position for lifters who've outgrown the bodyweight version, building the rigid midsection that transfers to gymnastics, pressing, and heavy lifts. It's a poor choice for anyone who still loses the flat low back in the unweighted hold, since adding weight only makes that fault worse.

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