Core · Bodyweight
Bottoms-up
How to do the bottoms-up, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie on your back with your legs straight and your hands under your hips for support. Brace your core and lift your hips and legs straight up off the floor until your feet point at the ceiling, then lower under control without letting your feet touch down.
- 1Feel your lower abs curling your hips off the floor
- 2Lift with your core, not by swinging your legs
- 3Keep the motion slow and controlled on the way down
Common mistakes
- Don't swing your legs to generate momentum
- Avoid arching your lower back off the floor
- Don't let your feet drop and rest between reps
Muscles worked
The bottoms-up mainly works the lower abs, with the upper abs, hip flexors, and obliques assisting.
- Lower AbsPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- QuadsMinor
- HamstringsMinor
Kovo programs the bottoms-up for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.