Exercise
Downward Dog
Downward Dog is an inverted V-shaped pose that stretches the hamstrings, calves, shoulders, and spine. Keep your hands and feet firmly planted while pressing your chest toward your thighs to deepen the stretch through your posterior chain.
Also called: Downward Facing Dog, Adho Mukha Svanasana · Equipment: stretching
How to do it
Step by step
- Start on your hands and knees with wrists under shoulders and knees under hips.
- Spread your fingers wide and press firmly through your palms.
- Tuck your toes and lift your hips up and back, forming an inverted V shape with your body.
- Press your chest toward your thighs and your heels gently toward the floor.
- Hold for 20-30 seconds while breathing steadily.
Muscles worked
What it trains
Mainly Calves, Hamstrings.
Programming
What the research says
Alternatives · VALDA FLEX
Swap it mid-workout
- Pancake Stretch
- World's Greatest Stretch
- Seated Forward Fold
- Ankle Stretch
- Calf Stretch
- Hamstring Stretch
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the downward dog in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.