Legs · Bodyweight
Down to Upward Dog
How to do the down to upward dog, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Start in a downward dog with hips high and heels reaching down. Shift forward into a plank and lower your hips toward the floor, pressing your chest up and forward into upward dog. Flow back to downward dog and repeat, syncing the movement with your breath.
- 1A stretch through your chest and hip flexors at the top of upward dog
- 2Your hamstrings and calves lengthening in downward dog
- 3Your glutes and palms pressing to lift the torso
Common mistakes
- Sinking into your lower back at the top of the flow
- Locking your elbows out hard
- Hunching your shoulders up toward your ears
Muscles worked
The down to upward dog mainly works the hip flexors, with the triceps, upper chest, lower back, and front delts assisting.
- Hip FlexorsPrimary
- TricepsSupport
- Upper ChestSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- LatsMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- QuadsMinor
- GlutesMinor
- HamstringsMinor
- CalvesMinor
Kovo programs the down to upward dog 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 hips & adductors exercises
- How to do the butterfly stretch
- How to do the external rotation
- How to do the cable hip adduction
- How to do the internal rotation
- How to do the cobra pose
- How to do the core scrunch
Last reviewed June 2026.