Shoulders · Bodyweight
Downward Facing Dog
How to do the downward facing dog, 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
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
From hands and knees, tuck your toes and lift your hips up and back, straightening your arms and legs into an inverted V. Press your hands into the floor, lengthen your spine, and reach your heels toward the ground.
- 1A stretch through your hamstrings, calves, and shoulders
- 2A long spine with hips reaching high
- 3Hands pressing into the mat to load the shoulders
Common mistakes
- Rounding your back or collapsing your shoulders
- Locking your knees or forcing your heels down
- Letting your head hang heavy out of line with your spine
Muscles worked
The downward facing dog works the biceps, triceps, mid chest, lats, lower back, upper abs, lower abs, quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, front delts, forearms, upper traps, and obliques.
- BicepsSupport
- TricepsSupport
- Mid ChestSupport
- LatsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- QuadsSupport
- GlutesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
Kovo programs the downward facing 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 shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.