Best body hold progressions to your core workouts
If you are looking for body hold progressions exercises to add to your regular workout to achieve your fitness goals, here is everything you need to know about the variations, benefits, and mistakes that you must avoid.
What are body hold progressions?
With the diverse range of exercises and workouts available that target fat loss, body flexibility, and strength training. Body hold progression is one such strength training exercise that helps you to work on all of your desired targets. This exercise incorporates arm movements and strains the abdominal region and oblique. It increases the metabolic rate by pushing the body to work harder to tie itself to the ground and maintain posture. It enhances the flexibility and strength of the lower back and spine region.
Body hold progressions are suitable for intermediate and advanced exercisers, mostly gymnasts and athletes. These intense exercises push you to target body flexibility and core stability. To level up your workout game you can add some variations but don’t forget to keep your core sturdy.
Best body hold progressions
Here are some variations that you can add to your body hold workouts to lose the extra fat from your body.
1. Hollow body progression with a resistance band row
Use a resistance band around your feet and hold the ends of the band in your hand. Now lean back and keep your legs stretched long. Do a reverse motion by bringing your hands over your shoulder and leaning forward towards your feet. While leaning forward your body should form a V-shape with your head and shoulders off the ground. As you move your ab-muscles forward and backward your ab-muscles, this exercise helps engage your back and arms.
2. Body hold to side seated leg extension
While lying on your back with your arms on the side, lift your legs to a 45-degree angle with pointed toes. Lift your shoulders and keep your upper back off the ground. Then move your arms towards your feet. While maintaining this angle try to rotate your body on one side and contract your obliques. After returning to the center, repeat it on the other side of the hip. This exercise rotates the spine and involves movement.
3. Glute bridge swing
This exercise involves the formation of a reverse tabletop position. Extend your legs in the front and keep them at an apart feet-hip distance. Fingertips should face your feet. Now inhale and swing your body towards the ceiling with the support of your hands, then exhale when you pull your body back.
4. Hold to the teaser
This exercise is more focused on balancing your body. Lie on your back and extend your legs in the front. Lift your legs to a 45-degree angle and raise your arms from the side of your torso. Maintaining this position, move your arms towards your feet and swing them overhead while squeezing your inner thighs.
5. Hollow body hold and resistance band loop
Loop your resistance band around a rod or a stationary bar. Now lie down facing the opposite direction. You should be able to hold the resistance band over your head. Lift your legs at a 45-degree angle with your toes pointed. Now move your hands over your shoulders and back. This back-and-forth movement will build tension around your abs.
6. Pelvic tuck
Sit down with your feet in the front and your knees bent. Keep your feet and hip-distance apart and place your hands behind your back. Now by pulling your navel into your spine, stretch your back. Perform small pelvic tucks with your tailbone. Pull yourself forward and release it to form a C-curve while you exhale. This is a great exercise for people with lower back pains and tightness.
7. Hollow hold with chest press
Lie on your back with your chin pointed towards your chest. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Lift your feet at a 45-degree angle and maintain this position. Now while holding your legs at this position perform a chest press with your dumbbells. Move your hands above your chest and then lower them. Repeat this movement to doubly challenging your core.
8. Hollow hold and chest fly
Lie down on your back with your legs extended forward. Now lift your legs off the ground with pointed toes. Use a dumbbell in each hand for this exercise. Lift your arms above your chest. While maintaining the body in that position, move the right arm on the side and then move it back in the center. Repeat this with both arms to get your chest muscles in action.
These are some of the variations that one can try to advance their workout keeping in mind the region they are targeting.
Benefits of the body hold progression
It acts as a fundamental move to execute many other advanced-level exercises. These exercises target the core muscles to burn the extra fat on your love handles to not only give you the much desired body shape but also target quads, hip flexors, and the spine. By emphasizing challenging the abs, obliques, and lower back muscles it builds a stronger and more stable core adds flexibility to back rotations, and builds the muscles in the pelvic region. Mobilizing the shoulders and arms gives an added strength to improve the overall body robustness.
Mistakes to avoid and things to keep in mind
It is not a beginner-level exercise so do avoid it if you are unable to figure out the correct posture and balance. Avoid it in case of the lower back, spine, neck pain, and injuries. Do keep in mind to keep your back straight and chin in the right posture.
