How to Do the Dragonfly Ab Exercise

The dragonfly exercise, also known as the dragon flag, is one of the most intensive, hard-hitting ab workouts you can do. Attributed to the martial arts expert Bruce Lee, the dragon flag is a true benchmark for abdominal and total body strength and an incredibly effective way of improving core strength.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Lie down on a flat or decline bench. Grip the bench tightly, either by its sides or, if it is a decline bench, by its t-bar. Make your back as flat and solid as possible, imagining yourself to be a piece of wood. Take a few deep breaths in order to get yourself ready for the exercise.
2. Raise your legs up through 90 degrees. It is critical that you keep your body straight and rigid as you raise your legs up. You should be resting only on your shoulders and not on your back or your neck. Lift yourself slowly until your legs are at a 90 degree angle to your body.
3. Lower your legs back through the vertical to horizontal 90 degrees. Again, make sure your back and torso remain straight and raised off of the branch. Maintain control over the descent so that you can complete the last few degrees of the dragonfly. Repeat the movement for as many repetitions you can do in three sets.
4. Innovate with quarters and negatives. If you're having trouble completing the dragon flag try starting from the top with your legs pointing straight up at the ceiling and lowering yourself as much as possible. If, on the other hand, the dragonfly becomes easy, lower yourself one quarter of the way, raise back up and then lower fully down again to complete one repetition.