Core · Bodyweight
Negative Dragon Flag
How to do the negative dragon flag, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Expert
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie on a bench and grip behind your head for support. Raise your legs and hips until your body is nearly vertical, stacked over your shoulders. From there, lower your straight, rigid body toward the bench as slowly as you can, fighting the descent the whole way before resetting at the top.
- 1Keep your body in one straight, rigid line from shoulders to feet
- 2Feel intense core tension as you fight the slow lowering
- 3Brace through your abs to keep your hips from sagging
Common mistakes
- Don't let your hips bend or your body fold at the waist
- Avoid dropping fast; the slow negative is the whole point
- Don't hold your breath; breathe steadily under tension
Muscles worked
The negative dragon flag mainly works the upper abs, lower abs, and obliques, with the lats, quads, glutes, and hip flexors assisting.
- Upper AbsPrimary
- Lower AbsPrimary
- ObliquesPrimary
- LatsSupport
- QuadsSupport
- GlutesSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Lower BackMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
- HamstringsMinor
- AdductorsMinor
Kovo programs the negative dragon flag 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.