How To Do High Boat Low Boat

By: Chris Freytag, CPT


Chris Freytag demonstrates High Boat Low Boat

High Boat Low Boat is an abdominal exercise that strengthens both your upper and lower abs and helps train your core stability to strengthen and protect your low back. High Boat Low Boat teaches the body to stay stable while at the same time pulling the body up and down while the weight of your legs remains off the floor. This is a challenging move, but if you learn how to do High Boat Low Boat you will feel your abs grow stronger and pulled in tighter.

High Boat Low Boat is unique in the way it moves your body. Many ab moves focus either on lifting and lowering the upper body or lifting and lower the legs in some way. This move does both! You are hovering off the floor the entire time, but the degree at which you hover changes. It’s a two-for-one sale on flattening your belly! In addition, High Boat Low Boat puts focus on the lower abs that are responsible for and tightening your abs and strengthening your back.

The lower ab muscles – the transverse abdominals – wrap around like a belt in front of your hip bones and around the small of your back. Think of these muscles like your own internal corset that holds in your internal organs and helps you sit, stand and walk every day.

Try High Boat Low Boat a few times a week and you will notice your results quickly. Add a great core workout like our 15-Minute Flat Ab Workout.

Here are the steps to performing

1) Start seated on mat with bent knees and feet flat on the mat. Palms are faced up on the side of knees. Lean back until your spine is at 45-degree angle and straighten legs and arms up in front of you so you are a v-shape.

2) With a very tight core lower your back and legs a few inches so you are shaped more line a canoe.

3) On the next breath, exhale to pull back up to the v-shape.  Repeat for desired number of reps.

Targets: core, back

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