Otis-Up

How to perform

1. 01Secure your feet and lay back on the floor. Your knees should be bent. Hold a weight with both hands to your chest. This will be your starting position.
2. 02Initiate the movement by flexing the hips and spine to raise your torso up from the ground.
3. 03As you move up, press the weight up so that it is above your head at the top of the movement.
4. 04Return the weight to your chest as you reverse the sit-up motion, ensuring not to go all the way down to the floor.

Form cues

• —Brace your core before the first rep and keep it braced.
• —Lead with the elbows and finish by squeezing the target muscle.
• —Control the lowering phase — that is where most of the growth stimulus lives.

Common mistakes

• —Using momentum instead of the target muscle.
• —Cutting the range of motion short to add load.
• —Adding weight before the movement pattern is clean.