Exercises · Abs · Bodyweight

Plank

How to do it

1. Place your forearms on the floor with your elbows under your shoulders.
2. Make a straight line from your head to your heels.
3. Brace your core and hold for your target time.

Form cues that help

• Squeeze your glutes and tighten your stomach as if bracing for a light poke.
• Look at the floor just ahead of your hands to keep your neck in line.
• Push the floor away through your forearms so your upper back stays flat.
• Breathe steadily instead of holding your breath.

Common mistakes

• Sagging hips. If your lower back dips, end the set. A shorter clean hold beats a long sloppy one.
• Piking the hips up. Raising your hips takes the work off your abs.
• Dropping the head. Keep your neck long and in line with your spine.
• Chasing time with bad form. Stop when your form breaks, not when the clock says so.

Easier and harder versions

• Easier: plank with your hands on a bench or your knees on the floor.
• Side plank, which works the obliques more. Do each side.
• Harder: plank with your feet raised, or with a slow shoulder tap or arm reach.
• Planks pair well with lifts like the deadlift and back squat, which also ask your core to brace.

How to progress it

The plank is tracked by time, not reps. Hold for a time you can do with clean form, such as sets of 20 to 30 seconds, then add a few seconds each session. When the hold gets long, move to a harder version instead of just chasing more time. Log your hold times every session. See progressive overload.

See it moving in FollowSet

FollowSet has a 3D demo for the plank and the side plank, with a timer for each hold and a log of every set. Download it on the App Store.

General information, not medical advice. Stop if you feel sharp pain in your lower back or shoulders, and ask a qualified coach or clinician if you have an injury.