V-Up
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Lie flat on your back, arms extended overhead, legs straight together. Press your lower back into the floor — that's the start position, no arch. Simultaneously and explosively raise both your torso AND your straight legs toward each other. Reach your hands toward your toes at the top — body forms a V shape. Lower with control back to the start position. Touch the floor lightly between reps; don't relax. 10-15 reps for a working set.
Why It Works
The V-up is one of the few dynamic spinal-flexion exercises still defensible for athletes. HIGH-volume LOADED repeated flexion (i.e. weighted crunches, 50+ rep sets) is what wrecks spines, but a low-volume bodyweight V-up trains explosive trunk-flexion power — a real hockey quality. The exact muscle action of a V-up — torso and legs explosively meeting at the top — is what a player does to get up off the ice after a fall, or to sit up into a check with the trunk braced. Programmed at 10-15 reps for 3 sets, 1-2× per week, the V-up adds a useful dynamic to a spine-safe core block without the disc-load downside of high-rep crunches.
Hockey Transfer
Dynamic, explosive trunk-flexion under control — the exact muscle action of getting up off the ice fast after a fall, or sitting up into a check. Low-volume, bodyweight-only keeps it spine-safe for athletes. Bent knees on the way up = cheating. If you can't keep them straight, sub a tuck-up until you can.
Coaching Cues
- "Lie flat on your back"
- "Arms overhead"
- "Legs straight. Explosively raise torso AND straight legs simultaneously to meet at the top in a V. Reach hands toward toes. Lower with control."
Common Mistakes
Bending the knees on the way up — kills the difficulty and the stimulus; straight legs or sub tuck-ups. Letting the lower back arch as legs lower — press it into the floor through the descent. Using arm momentum to fling up — both ends move together; not arms first. Treating it as high-volume cardio — keep sets ≤15 reps and quality high. This is strength work.
Progression / Regression
Weighted V-up — hold a light dumbbell or medicine ball overhead. Or candlestick V-up (legs go above vertical at top).
Tuck-up — same setup, bend knees as you rise. Build up to 15 clean tucks before progressing.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Strength/neural
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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