How to Train Your Transverse Abdominis: Exercises & Guide

The transverse abdominis is a corset-like muscle that hugs your spine, flattens your belly, and keeps your body stable when life (or your heavy squats) tries to knock you off balance.

It doesn’t care about looking good on the beach: its job is to hold you in, protect your spine, and stabilize your trunk. But when it’s strong, it can tighten your waistline better than a thousand sit-ups ever could.

Many people don’t know how to activate their transverse abdominis, let alone train it properly. But after reading this guide, you will, with a selection of the best exercises and tips on how to easily work it into your regular ab routine.

Do You Say Transverse Abdominis or Transversus Abdominis?

First of all, you might have seen this ab muscle called both the transverse abdominis and the transversus abdominis. So which one is it?

The short answer is: you can say either, but the second is technically more correct. There is no we in transversus, but there is an us.

Transversus abdominis is the formal, anatomically precise term. It’s the Latin adjective form you’ll find in anatomy textbooks. So, if you’re in med class, that’s the one you use.

So why do I use transverse abdominis here?

Because it is a more common and widely accepted version, especially in the fitness world. It’s basically an Anglicized version of the Latin term.

It’s easier to say, and everyone will know what you’re talking about.

But whether you say “transverse” or “transversus,” you’re talking about the same muscle. Either way, just make sure you’re training it.

Transverse Abdominis Anatomy and Function

The transverse abdominis, or TVA for short, is the deepest of your abdominal muscles. You often hear it referred to as your natural weightlifting belt or corset, which isn’t far off from how it actually works.

Where and What Is This Thing?

The TVA sits underneath your more famous ab muscles, the rectus abdominis (your “six-pack”) and the obliques.

Unlike those two, the TVA doesn’t directly contribute to a chiseled waistline, but it’s super important for your stability and strength.

Here’s a more detailed look at its anatomy:

Origin (Where It Starts)

The transverse abdominis has a few origin points, which is part of what makes it the great stabilizer it is:

• The inner surfaces of your lower six ribs.
• The thoracolumbar fascia (a diamond-shaped sheet of connective tissue in your lower back).
• The front part of your iliac crest (the top of your hip bone).
• The outer part of the inguinal ligament (a ligament in your groin).

Insertion (Where It Attaches)

From those starting points, the TVA muscle fibers wrap around to the front and insert into:

• The linea alba (the connective tissue that runs down the middle of your abdomen and separates the left and right sides of your six-pack).
• The pubic crest and pecten pubis (parts of your pubic bone).

That neat wrap-around structure is why the TVA both looks like and functions like a corset.

What Does It Actually Do?

The transverse abdominis is not about looks (you can’t see it) and not much about movement (like doing a crunch). Instead, its functions are more about, well, function: stability and compression.

Here’s a rundown of its key responsibilities:

The most important job of the TVA is core stabilization. A few milliseconds before you move your limbs, it activates deep inside your core, stabilizing your spine and pelvis. People with lower back pain often have a delayed (or even absent) TVA activation when they move.^{1 2}

When the TVA contracts, it pulls your abdominal wall inward and increases your intra-abdominal pressure. Again with the corset tightening. That pressure supports your spine from the inside out and is essential for doing forceful things like coughing, sneezing, pushing a baby out, and… you guessed it, pooping. And when you blow out candles on a birthday cake, your TVA helps you push the air out of your lungs.

In addition, your transverse abdominis helps to hold all your internal organs in place, which is kind of a big deal.

Why Should You Care About Your TVA?

If your transverse abdominis is weak or you can’t activate it properly, it can be a real problem whether you’re a lifter or not. Without its stabilizing force, your spine will be more vulnerable.

Your TVA is one of your body’s built-in safety mechanisms to protect your spine, especially if you put it under heavy loads. If it’s not doing its job as intended, other muscles have to pick up the slack, and you might end up with lower back pain.³

And from a pure strength-training perspective:

With a strong and stable core, you transfer force more efficiently and can lift heavier weights with less risk of throwing your back out.

And if you’re a bodybuilder, even if you have low body fat, a weak TVA can give you a pooch if it doesn’t automatically hold everything in like it’s supposed to.

Exercises for Training Your Transverse Abdominis

In this section, we’ll take a look at five of the best transverse abdominis exercises, from heavy compound exercises to bodyweight stability and anti-rotation movements.

Together, they cover all major TVA functions:

• Maximal bracing
• Isolated activation
• Anti-extension
• Anti-rotation
• Dynamic endurance stability

By putting them all together, as we’ll do in the next section, you can create an ab workout that works your entire abdominal wall, including the TVA.

1. Front Squat

The front squat is a superior exercise for building bigger and stronger quads and improving athletic performance. And while it does not isolate your transverse abdominis, it’s great for teaching it to work as part of a functional movement.⁴

With a bar on the front of your shoulders, the load will try to pull you into flexion, so you’re basically resisting being folded in half. A big part of that resistance movement is your transverse abdominis bracing inward and stabilizing your trunk from all sides. Without it, you’d be dumping that bar on the floor before you can say “failed rep”.

Pro Tip: Before you descend into the squat, take a breath of air and try to put it down into your stomach. You’ll create 360° of tension and force your TVA into action.

How to Do Front Squats

• Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width. Step forward and place the bar on the front of your shoulders, on top of your clavicles, and tight against your throat.
• Inhale, brace your core slightly, and unrack the bar.
• Take two steps back and adjust your foot position.
• Squat as deep as possible with good technique.
• With control, stop and reverse the movement, extending your hips and legs again.
• Exhale on the way up or exchange air in the top position.
• Breathe in and repeat for reps.

2. Hollow Hold

The hollow hold is a great exercise if you want to feel your transverse abdominis burning without lifting a single weight. It maximally recruit your TVA to cinch your entire abdomen and maintain contact with the floor. It’s a fundamental movement in gymnastics, where you need core stability powered by the TVA like nowhere else, but it carries over to almost every other sport and lift.

If you haven’t done them before, the “hollow” doesn’t need to be perfect right away. You can bend your knees or keep your arms by your sides (less leverage) until you’re strong enough to keep them extended.

Pro Tip: Here’s a neat cue to know if your TVA fires during the holds:

• Is your stomach pooching up towards the ceiling like a little bread loaf? If so, your rectus abdominis is taking over.
• Is your stomach drawing in and flattening? Bingo! Your transverse abdominis is doing its job.

How to Do Hollow Holds

1. Lie down on your back with your legs straight and arms extended overhead on the floor. Press your lower back into the ground to engage your core.
2. Lift your legs between 15 and 30 degrees off the ground, keeping them straight and close together. To make the exercise easier, you can bend your knees slightly and keep them closer to your chest.
3. Simultaneously, lift your head and shoulders off the floor, with your shoulder blades just above the ground. Your arms should remain extended overhead in line with your body.
4. Maintain tension in your core and keep your lower back pressed into the floor. Your body should form a curved “hollow” shape, with only your lower back and glutes in contact with the floor.
5. Breathe steadily and hold this position for the desired amount of time.
6. Lower your legs, shoulders, and head back to the ground.

3. Pallof Press

The Pallof press is an anti-rotation exercise where you hold a band or cable at your chest and press it out in front of you. The cable wants to twist your torso towards the anchor point, so your core has to resist that rotation.

It’s not a pure transverse abdominis exercise, but it’s very functional for training anti-rotation stability, one of the main functions of the TVA.⁵ Basically, the Pallof press creates a problem (rotational force) that your TVA has to solve (stabilization).

Pro Tip: It’s easy to let the cable drag you back a little and muscle it out with your arms. Instead, try to “lock” your ribcage to your pelvis; the real benefit of the Pallof press happens when you resist the motion through your core and hips, not just your arms.

How to Do the Pallof Press

1. Attach a handle in a cable machine at chest height and stand with your side facing the machine.
2. Grab the handle with both hands and stand with feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent.
3. Pull the handle to your chest, engage your core, and then press your arms straight out in front of you without rotating your torso.
4. Hold briefly, then bring the handle back to your chest in a controlled motion.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch sides.

4. Dead Bug

Despite the goofy name, the dead bug is a phenomenal exercise for learning to control and strengthen your TVA without any equipment (but you can also do it with dumbbells for added resistance).

Similar to the hollow body hold, it’s an anti-extension exercise. However, you introduce a new challenge by moving the opposite arm and leg: maintaining stability with your limbs in motion. Your TVA has to prevent your lower back from arching off the floor in a direct fight against spinal extension.

Pro Tip: Don’t just hold your breath and brace. Instead, breathe out when you lower each arm and leg. You’ll hit the TVA harder because it automatically activates when you exhale.

So the rhythm is:

• Breathe out as you extend the opposite arm and leg.
• Breathe in as you return to the starting position.

How to Do Dead Bugs

1. Lie on your back, with your arms straight up towards the ceiling and your legs stacked over your hips, with the knees bent at a 90-degree angle.
2. Engage your core, and make sure that the lower back has contact with the surface.
3. With control, straighten out the right leg and lower it towards the floor at the same time that you lower the left arm over your head as far as you can. Keep the lower back in contact with the floor the entire time.
4. Reverse the movement, and repeat for the other side.

5. Farmer’s Walk

The farmer’s walk doesn’t isolate the transverse abdominis like the drawing-in action of, say, hollow holds, but is more of a full-core exercise with great carryover to other sports and exercises.

When you walk with a heavy weight in each hand, your body wants to sway from side to side, rotate, and collapse, all at once, like an internal battle for stability, with your TVA right there on the front lines. It (along with stabilizers like the obliques and spinal erectors) holds your trunk stiff and immovable like an unopened can of soda.

Pro Tip: Before you pick up the weights, take a deep breath and brace your core as if someone is about to punch you in the stomach. During the walk, hold that brace, but take short breaths into your chest instead of losing your core tension with big belly breaths.

How to Do Farmer’s Walks

1. Pick up a pair of suitably heavy farmer’s walk cases, dumbbells, or similar implements.
2. Hold your breath, brace your core slightly.
3. Look ahead, and start moving forward in small steps. Increase the stride length as you increase the speed.
4. Keep your body straight and do not lean excessively forward as you walk.
5. When you are done, put the weights back on the ground in a controlled manner.

Try This If You’re Having Problems Activating Your Transverse Abdominis

If your transverse abdominis is weak or you have trouble getting it to fire, doing heavy or complex core exercises often just recruits stronger muscles.

In that case, the first thing you want to do is to learn how to find and isolate your TVA, then introduce more complex movements over time.

I suggest you try stomach vacuums, a breathing and core technique that really lets the TVA know it’s alive.

Bodybuilders use it to gain more flexing control over the ab muscles (and to slim the waist, although that’s not a scientifically proven effect), and it’s a great way to feel your TVA working.

1. Stand upright with relaxed shoulders and your spine straight.
2. Breathe out through your mouth, emptying your lungs as much as possible.
3. Pull your belly button inward and upward toward your spine. Think “suck it in” and imagine trying to touch your navel to your backbone.
4. Keep your abs tight for the desired time (5–10 seconds to start).
5. Breathe in, relax, and return to normal breathing.

While you hold the vacuum, keep one hand just below your sternum and the other just beneath your belly button. You’ll know you’re activating the transversus abdominis properly if the lower hand moves inward while the upper hand remains still.

You can also do it lying on your back; some find it even easier to feel the TVA fire that way.

What About Planks?

The plank is one of the most popular ab exercises, and yes, it does work the TVA to a significant degree. You might have noticed that it’s absent from the list of exercises above.

That’s because I recommend dead bugs and hollow holds over regular planks, if we’re talking TVA activation, and here’s why:

• When you do dead bugs, your spine has full floor support, which makes it easier to focus on TVA activation without collapsing into poor form.
• And the hollow hold forces TVA action rather than passive bracing; if your TVA switches off, you instantly feel your back arch.

Planks are awesome, but they are not as direct and don’t scale all that well past the early stages.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t do planks; on the contrary, do them as a general core exercise. As such, they are excellent, and you’ll get transversus abdominis work as a bonus. But I’d prioritize other exercises in a top five if we’re talking about the TVA specifically.

Transverse Abdominis Workouts

Now, let’s talk TVA training.

Does the average person slinging iron in the gym need to dedicate a specific workout to their transverse abdominis?

Probably not.

Big lifts like front squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, and farmer’s walks already involve your TVA a lot because you have to brace and stabilize under load.

For most lifters, doing these lifts provides plenty of functional TVA activation.

If you then tack on a few sets of exercises that involve your transverse abdominis more directly, like dead bugs or hollow holds at the end of your regular ab workouts, you’re good. It’s a low-investment, high-reward strategy that will contribute to your back health and help you become a stronger lifter.

Some exceptions include:

• You’re in postpartum recovery or have had abdominal surgery. TVA retraining is often prescribed by your OB/GYN, doctor, or physio (follow their recommendations).
• Physios often include TVA activation drills if you need rehab for lower back pain.
• High-level athletes or lifters with specific weaknesses might benefit from a dedicated core stability block with more TVA training.

But for the average gym-goer or even your standard bodybuilder or powerlifter, you very likely don’t need a full-blown, 30-minute transverse abdominis workout.

How to Add Transverse Abdominis Training to Your Workouts

Here’s how you can implement TVA training in your workout plan.

Let’s say you’re doing StrengthLog’s ab workout. It looks like this:

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Ab Wheel Roll-Out	3	8
High to Low Wood Chop	3	10
Hanging Leg Raise	3	12
Crunch	3	20

Your TVA is already involved in the above exercises, especially the first two, but if you want to give it more attention, simply add, for example, three sets of dead bugs at the end. Or hollow holds, or Pallof presses. Or rotate between them from workout to workout.

Here’s what a more TVA-oriented ab session could look like:

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Ab Wheel Roll-Out	3	8
High to Low Wood Chop	3	10
Hanging Leg Raise	3	12
Crunch	3	20
Dead Bug	3	12

Do it twice per week, and you have yourself a complete workout for your entire front core, layer by layer, all the way to the deep TVA.

Stretching Your Transverse Abdominis

The transverse abdominis doesn’t have long muscle fibers that easily lengthen like, say, your hamstrings.

Also, stretching is usually for muscles that get tight and restrict movement. Your TVA is an endurance and stability muscle. Its job is to stay tight and provide support.

Because of its location and function, trying to isolate it for a stretch is not only difficult but also goes against what it’s supposed to do, which is to maintain tension and stability.

Activate and strengthen it, and your TVA will do right by you. You don’t really need specific stretches for it in the way you might for other muscles.

To stretch your entire abdominal area, try this cobra stretch:

Cobra Pose

1. Lie face down on a mat on the floor with your legs extended and with the top of your feet pressed into the mat
2. Place your hands under your shoulders, then press down through your hands, lifting your chest and head up while keeping your hips and thighs grounded.
3. Draw your shoulder blades back and down, opening your chest.

Your transverse abdominis will lengthen somewhat when you lift your upper body like this, but the bigger effect is on your rectus and obliques. Doing this stretch will not impair the function of the TVA, so you can do it without worry if you like how it feels in your abs.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Train Your Transverse Abdominis

Final Rep

And that’s it! By now, you have a good grasp of your transverse abdominis: how it works, some of the best exercises for this hidden but essential muscle, and how you can implement TVA training into your workouts.

Remember to download our workout log app to follow the workouts and track your gains. Increase the weight you use in each exercise to make sure you enjoy continued muscle growth and strength gains.

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Last reviewed: 2025-10-01

References

1. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, Volume 8, Issue 2, April 2004, Pages 104-113. Feedforward muscle activity: an investigation into the onset and activity of Internal oblique during two functional reaching tasks.
2. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2017 Dec;12(7):1048–1056. Transversus abdominis activation and timing improves following core stability training: A randomized trial.
3. HSS J. 2019 Aug 29;15(3):214–220. The Critical Role of Development of the Transversus Abdominis in the Prevention and Treatment of Low Back Pain.
4. J Athl Enhancement 5:1, March 13, 2016. Activation of Selected Core Muscles during Squatting.
5. Strength and Conditioning Journal 43(2):p 121-128, April 2021. The Pallof Press.