Tutorial: Suspended prone tuck for a stronger core

Are you looking for a more challenging exercise to increase your upper body strength and develop a stronger core? It’s time to include suspension training in your moves. Our suggestion is the suspended prone tuck, an exercise that demands upper body power while focusing on your core. Here is all you need to know about it.

WHAT

The suspended prone tuck is a challenging exercise that will develop core and upper body strength and control.
It makes use of a trapeze bar, but a suspension trainer — like TRX — will also do the trick.
We can consider this exercise as a progression of the traditional plank. Therefore, ensure you can hold a plank with reasonable control before moving to this exercise.

HOW

Kneel on all fours with the trapeze bar or TRX behind you. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart.
When you are ready, place your feet on the bar (or inside in the TRX straps) and raise your body into a suspended plank position. Keep the core engaged and maintain a robust and stable position.
Maintain your plank position as you slowly tuck the knees towards the chest.
Return and repeat for reps or time.

WHY

When the body perceives instability, it reacts in a natural, reflexive way to maintain stability. With this in mind, suspension training (when applied correctly) is a fantastic way to train the core. However, don’t be fooled by this exercise – it’s not just for the core; it’s a whole-body exercise. Mainly because the core muscles are challenged further by the suspended legs, also challenging the upper body (namely chest, shoulder and arms).
To get more out of this exercise, don’t think of it as an abdominal exercise. Instead, think of it as a core control exercise. What you are effectively trying to do is maintain stability and stiffness in your core (and shoulders) while trying to tuck your knees in. This will help you remain focussed on core stability, and better develop functional strength and movement.
Where a trapeze bar or TRX is unavailable, you can use a Swiss ball — in this variation, bear in mind that your legs are higher off the ground which will put an additional load through the shoulders/arms. If you want a no-fuss, stripped-down version of the suspended prone tuck, then you can take your shoes off and perform this exercise on a wooden floor. Here, your socks should slide sufficiently to create a smooth movement as you tuck your knees inwards.