The Supine Knee-Hug Express

Mechanism · Protocol Notes

Alright, folks, time to get horizontal — but not in the way you're hoping. This is the lying knee-tuck, and it's the kind of move that looks laughably simple until you're twenty reps deep and your midsection feels like it's been through a washing machine set to "destroy."

Stretch out on a mat or a flat bench with your gams dangling off the end. Tuck your hands either beneath your glutes with the palms facing down, or grip the sides of the bench for stability — whatever helps you feel like you're not about to slide into oblivion. Extend your pins straight out, and you've found your starting posture.

Now, draw both knees toward your ribcage as you breathe out, folding yourself up like a lawn chair being put away for winter. Keep pulling until those knees are practically knocking on your chest's front door, and hold that crunched position for a hot second while your abdominal muscles contemplate their life choices. Then, with deliberate, maddening slowness, re-extend your legs back to the starting arrangement while breathing in. No momentum, no kicking, no using gravity as your personal assistant. The slower you go, the more your core has to work, and the more you'll question why you didn't just stick with regular crunches. But you didn't, and that's why you're a champion.