Valslide Body Saw Overview
The valslide body saw is a hard core move. You start in a plank with your feet on valslides. Then you slide your body back and forth. It works your abs, the muscles on the front of your belly. It also works your shoulders and chest. You slide out to make your body longer, then pull back in. You need valslides or another smooth slider and a flat floor. This move builds a very strong core. Sliding your body out makes your abs fight to hold you flat. That deep tension is what grows the muscle. It suits lifters who can already hold a solid plank. Use it in a core workout or as a finisher. Do slow, controlled saws for 8 to 12 reps.
What Is The Point of the Valslide Body Saw?
The valslide body saw exercise builds rock-solid core strength and stability. It teaches your abs to resist movement while your body fights gravity.
How To Do The Valslide Body Saw
- Set your feet on the valslides and drop into a forearm plank, with your elbows under your shoulders and your forearms flat on the floor. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your heels.
- Brace your core hard by pulling your belly button in and squeezing your glutes. This tension is what protects your lower back during the whole movement.
- Set your shoulders down and away from your ears and keep your neck neutral, gazing at the floor just ahead of your hands. Do not let your hips sag or pike up.
- Push gently through your forearms to slide your body backward on the valslides, letting your feet travel back and your body extend longer. Move slowly and stay in a rigid line.
- Slide back only as far as you can keep a solid plank with no sagging in your lower back. The farther you saw back, the harder your abs have to fight to hold you straight.
- Hold the extended position for two to three seconds, feeling your abs work hard to keep your spine from caving. This pause is where a lot of the value lives.
- Pull your body back forward to the starting plank by dragging through your forearms and using your core. Keep your hips level the entire time.
- Reset your brace at the top and keep breathing in short, controlled breaths without losing your tension. Never hold your breath so long that you lose your brace.
- Continue for 8 to 12 slow, controlled reps or for timed sets. Stop the moment your lower back starts to sag, since a broken plank is worse than fewer reps.
Valslide Body Saw Form Tips
- Keep your body in one straight line the whole time.
- Keep your core tight from head to heels.
- Slide out slow and controlled.
- Only slide as far as you can stay flat.
- Keep your hips level. Do not let them sag or lift.
- Push through your forearms to move.
- Breathe slow and steady. Do not hold your breath.
- Keep your neck in line with your spine.
- Pull back in with your core, not just your legs.
Common Mistakes to Avoid for the Valslide Body Saw
- Letting the hips sag toward the floor. When your hips drop, your lower back takes the load your abs should be holding, which is exactly how this move hurts people. Squeeze your glutes and brace hard so your body stays in one rigid line.
- Sliding back too far, past what you can control. Sawing out beyond your strength lets your spine cave and turns a safe drill dangerous. Only extend as far as you can hold a flat, braced plank.
- Piking the hips up to make it easier. Hiking your butt into the air takes the tension off your abs and cheats the movement. Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels the whole time.
- Moving too fast and using momentum. Sliding back and forth quickly lets momentum do the work your core should be doing. Move slowly and deliberately so your abs stay under constant tension.
- Losing the core brace mid-rep. If your midsection goes soft during the slide, your lower back absorbs the force. Keep your abs pulled tight from the start of the rep to the finish.
- Letting the shoulders creep up toward the ears. Shrugging under load stresses the shoulders and neck. Set your shoulders down and back and keep them stable throughout.
- Craning the neck up to look forward. Lifting your head strains your neck and breaks your straight line. Keep a neutral neck with your eyes on the floor just ahead of your hands.
- Holding your breath the entire rep. Locking your breath makes you dizzy and eventually forces you to release your brace all at once. Take short, controlled breaths while keeping your trunk tight.
- Placing your elbows too far forward. If your elbows are ahead of your shoulders at the start, the leverage is off and your shoulders strain. Stack your elbows right under your shoulders to begin.
- Sawing on a surface where the sliders do not glide. If the valslides stick, the movement jerks and you lose control. Use a smooth floor so the slide is clean and steady.
- Chasing reps once your form is gone. Grinding out sloppy, sagging reps only drills a bad pattern and risks your back. End the set when you can no longer hold a solid plank.
Valslide Body Saw Workout Tips
- Keep your body in one rigid line the whole time. A straight plank from head to heels is what makes this an ab exercise rather than a low-back strain.
- Brace your core and squeeze your glutes together. That full-body tension protects your spine and is the whole point of the body saw.
- Slide back only as far as you can stay solid. Your safe range grows over time, so let your ability to hold the plank set your distance, not your ego.
- Move slowly and control both directions. A slow saw keeps your abs under constant tension and builds far more core strength than a fast one.
- Add a two to three second hold at the extended position. Pausing where your abs work hardest turns up the difficulty without any added weight.
- Program this as anti-extension core work. It trains your abs to resist your spine arching, which carries over to safer deadlifts, squats, and overhead pressing.
- Aim for 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 slow reps or short timed holds. Core stability work responds to quality tension, not endless sloppy reps.
- Progress by sliding farther or pausing longer. Because there is no external load, increasing your range and time under tension is how you overload.
- Keep your shoulders packed down and your neck neutral. Good upper-body position keeps the tension in your abs and off your neck and shoulders.
- Breathe in short, controlled breaths without losing your brace. Learning to breathe while braced is a valuable skill that carries into every heavy lift.
- Use a smooth floor and quality sliders. Clean glide lets you control the movement, while a sticky surface makes it jerky and unsafe.
- Try it with your hands on the sliders instead of your feet as a variation later. Changing which end slides shifts the challenge and keeps your core guessing.
- Stop each set the moment your form breaks. A perfect plank held a little shorter beats a sagging one dragged out for extra reps.
- Pair it with rotational and side core work for a complete midsection. Training your core to resist extension, rotation, and side bending builds a trunk strong in every direction.
- Film yourself from the side. Video catches a sagging or piking hip that you cannot feel while you are fighting to hold the position.
- Be patient and build slowly. The body saw humbles strong people, so respect it, keep your reps clean, and your range will grow over weeks.
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