Core · Bodyweight
Dish Hold
How to do the dish hold, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- time
- Movement
- Isometric
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie on your back and lift your legs and shoulders off the floor so your body forms a shallow banana shape. Reach your arms overhead and hold, keeping your lower back pressed into the ground.
- 1Feel your entire front core lock in to hold the shape
- 2Press your lower back flat into the floor
- 3Keep your legs and arms long and tense
Common mistakes
- Don't let your lower back peel off the floor
- Avoid bending your knees to make it easier
- Don't hold your breath; breathe shallow and steady
Muscles worked
The dish hold mainly works the lower abs and upper abs, with the hip flexors, obliques, and quads assisting.
- Lower AbsPrimary
- Upper AbsPrimary
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- QuadsSupport
- LatsMinor
- GlutesMinor
- Front DeltsMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the dish hold 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.