Get ready for the ab workout you never saw coming. Meet the kneeling stances, a series of underrated positions that will help you carve your core and hone your posture, without ever forcing you to do a single situp — or to even flex your abs, for that matter. Instead, they turn exercises like dumbbell curls and shoulder presses into workouts for your core, too, forcing you to be more conscious of body alignment than youve ever been.
You typically do most exercises either standing, sitting on a bench, or lying on a bench or the floor. But the kneeling stances ask you to use a different position, and they work for just about any exercise you could do standing or seated. The beauty of these positions is that you can do bodybuilding-type exercises, says Amir Mofidi, R.K.C., P.I.C.P., a personal trainer and the director of operations at Orange Countys Stark Irvine.
Theyre one of the best-kept secrets in fitness, and they were originally developed by renowned strength coach and physical therapist Gray Cook. His idea was simple: By getting you to do an exercise while sitting on your shins (the tall kneeling stance), he was removing your lower legs as a lever. By doing that, it became easier for you to see your mistakes, he said. When you trained from the tall kneeling position, for example, it would be impossible to ignore slight flaws, such as shaky breathing or a rounded upper body posture.
Those slight flaws often occur in your core, and theyre almost impossible to avoid when youre using kneeling positions. Why? With your lower legs out of the equation, if your abs, glutes, and lower back muscles (just to name a few muscle groups) arent firing correctly, youll lose your balance. Read on to learn the kneeling positions and how and when to use them.
The Kneeling Positions
There are two basic kneeling positions. Try using a mix of these two stances, in addition to regular standing and seated exercises, in your workouts.
Tall Kneeling Stance
The tall kneeling position is simple, sit on your shins, with your knees just wider than hips-width apart. Your thighs should be perpendicular to the ground. Simple right? Except when youre doing reps, of, say, biceps curls from this posture, your abs, glutes, and hamstrings will have to continually fire to keep your torso from tipping back and forth. The tall kneeling stance is ideal for perfecting your biceps curl form, as youll see in this video.
What it works: Abs, glutes, and lower back.
Attach a light- or medium-weight resistance band to a post set at about waist height. Stand a few feet from it, then grab its end and get in tall kneeling position. Your shoulder should face the attachment of the band. Hold the band at your chest with both hands, arms bent. This is the start. Now straight your arms out in front of you, so theyre parallel with the ground; you should feel tension from the band when you do this (if you dont, then youre too close to the band). That tension will try to pull you in the direction of the post where you attached the band; turn your core and glutes on to fight that and keep your shoulders and hips square. Hold for two counts here, then return to the start. Thats 1 rep; do 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps in each direction.
Half-Kneeling Landmine Press
View this post on Instagram Give this half-kneeling/standing landmine press combo a try to work your shoulders and core. Start by doing 5-8 half-kneeling presses, then stand up and try to match the number of reps you did with standing presses. Half-kneeling presses are great for core and hip stability and also provide a nice stretch for the hip flexors, but because stability is the limiting factor, they arent the best for strength and muscle-building. This combo gives you the stability benefits that come from half-kneeling and still allows you to smoke your shoulders with the standing presses, giving you the best of both worlds. Its simple, very easy on the joints, and also very effective. A post shared by Ben Bruno (@benbrunotraining) on Mar 25, 2017 at 9:23am PDT
What it works: Shoulders
Get in a half-kneeling stance, with your left foot planted on the ground. Grasp the front end of a loaded barbell with your right hand and hold it at chest height. Tighten your core and squeeze your glutes. Keeping your torso steady, press the barbell upwards, pause for a moment, then lower back to the start. Thats 1 rep; do 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps per arm, switching your planted foot every set.
Half-Kneeling Halo
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eb Samuel (@ebenezersamuel23) on Jan 13, 2019 at 1:56pm PST
What it works: Shoulders
Get in half-kneeling stance with a light-to-medium weight dumbbell or kettlebell. Hold the weight at chest height, and tighten your core and glutes. Keeping your elbows tucked, move the kettlebell around your head slowly, trying to keep it as close to your head as possible. Keep your torso steady as you do this, and flex your abs so your ribcage doesnt flare out. One revolution around your head is one rep. Do 6 reps clockwise, and 6 reps counterclockwise per set. Do 4 sets, switching your planted foot every set.
Half-Kneeling Clean
View this post on Instagram Two movement combo for a powerful upper body 1 Half kneeling Clean – youll be using a slight hinge but this is much more upper body focused since you dont have a ton of momentum to play with 2 Alternating push-ups over the bell – if you cant do this explosively or are using too light of a bell alternate for archer pushups or shoulder taps 5 cleans + 5 push-ups + 5 cleans other arm + 5 more pushups then rest. Perform 3-5 rounds. — For more Kettlebell work check out theKettlebellDifference.com (LINK IN BIO) and for the next Kettlebell Flow workshop 4/14 at @saddlebackstrength Details coming this week. . . . . . . . . . . . #kettlebell #kettlebellexercises #thekettlebelldifference #strengthbymarcus #onnit #onnitacademy #kettlebellclean #pushup #explosivepushups A post shared by Marcus Martinez (@kettlebellexercises) on Mar 20, 2018 at 9:47am PDT
What it works: Hip power and shoulder strength
Get in half-kneeling stance, with a light-to-medium weight dumbbell or kettlebell in one arm, held near your hip. Tighten your glutes. Hinge your torso forward and shift your glutes back slightly, then tighten your glutes and thrust your hips forward. As you do this, swing the weight upwards to your shoulder. Catch the weight in the front rack position, then pause. Lower the weight. Thats 1 rep. Do 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps per side.
Half-Kneeling Alternating Shoulder Press
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eb Samuel (@ebenezersamuel23) on Mar 2, 2018 at 1:07pm PST
What it works: Shoulders
Get in half-kneeling stance with light-to-medium weight dumbbells or kettlebells at your shoulders. Tighten your glutes. Press the righthand weight upwards, pause for a moment, then lower it back to your shoulder. Repeat the process with the weight in your left hand. Thats 1 rep. Do 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps, switching your plant foot every set. The challenge: Your torso will want to tip from side to side as you raise and lower the weights; tighten your core so your shoulders stay level throughout the entire set.