How to Do Plank: Muscles Worked & Proper Form

Introduction to The Plank

The plank is a very effective exercise for building a strong core. It’s a very accessible exercise since it requires no equipment, can be performed anywhere, and can be scaled up or down depending on your strength level.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to perform the plank with proper form, which muscles it targets, its benefits, and how to progress the exercise over time.

What Muscles Do the Plank Work?

The plank works your abs primarily and your obliques secondary. It also works the transversus abdominis, which is often referred to as “your inner corset”.

Holding a plank position requires total-body tension and stability, which makes it much more than just an ab exercise. To effectively work your abs and core, you need to make sure to keep a proper form, and not start to cheat by relying on other muscles.

Plank Benefits

• Core strength and stability. As mentioned above, the core works the entire core, including the deep stabilising muscles. A strong core can improve the performance in a lot of sports and lifts by providing a stable base for your movements.
• Accessible. Since the plank doesn’t require any equipment, you can do it almost anywhere. You don’t need to buy any equipment, or go to a gym to get your plank sets done.
• Improved Posture. By strengthening the muscles that support your spine and shoulders, the plank can help to correct poor posture. This could be especially beneficial if you sit for long hours. A well-trained core also reduces stress on the lumbar spine and could help prevent back injuries.
• Scalable. The plank can be a heavy exercise, but it’s easy to scale down if you feel like it’s to hard. And on the other hand, if you feel like you need to keep the plank position forever for it to be challenging, it’s easy to scale up as well.
  

Plank: Proper Form & Technique

Positioning

Keep your elbows directly under your shoulders. Push up on your toes so your body forms a straight line from head to heels. Keep your feet about hip-width apart, and your neck in a neutral position, with your gaze slightly ahead of your hands.

Shoulders

In the plank position, your shoulder blades should be active and stable. Try to not pinch them together, but not overly spread them either. By pressing the floor away with your forearms, you create a tension in your upper back and shoulders.

Body Line

Keep your body in a completely straight line from head to heels during the entire time. Make sure that you keep your hips in position, don’t let them drop (or rise).

Brace your core as if you were preparing to take a punch. Pull your belly button slightly inward, but without rounding your back. Engage your glutes and thighs to keep your lower back in a neutral position.

Common Mistakes in the Plank

• Not keeping the hips in correct position. As the seconds pass, and the exercise gets harder, it’s easy to either rise your hips against the roof, or letting them sink towards the floor, to make the exercise a bit easier. But by doing this, you’re moving focus from the targeted muscles.
• Arching the lower back. Same as above, it’s easy to start arching your lower back when you get tired. Try to maintain the correct position, and when it gets too hard, stop before compromising with the form.
• Collapsed shoulders. Sinking into your shoulder blades reduces upper body stability and increases joint stress. Press the floor away with your forearms to stay active through your shoulders and upper back.
• Getting hubris. The plank is an exercise where it’s easy to get too stubborn, and keep going on even though the technique is off. Don’t be that person. Keep the quality of your performance high during all sets.
  

Plank Variations and Alternatives

1. Kneeling Plank
2. Weighted Plank
3. Plank with Leg Lifts
4. Side Plank
5. Kneeling Side Plank
6. Plank with Shoulder Taps
7. Copenhagen Plank

1. Kneeling Plank

The kneeling plank is an easier version of the standard plank. By resting on your knees instead of your toes, you reduce the weight your core has to support. This makes it ideal if you feel that it’s hard to maintain a proper position in a standard plank.

2. Weighted Plank

The weighted plank is a variation of the standard plank that increases the challenge by adding external resistance by placing a weight plate on your back. This way, the core needs to work harder to maintain stability and proper alignment under the greater load.

It’s an effective way to advance the plank once bodyweight planks become too easy to progress with time alone.

Tip: Have a training partner to help you positioning the weight plate on your back. Focus on maintaining perfect form — adding weight is only useful if you can hold a proper form.

3. Plank with Leg Lifts

This variation of the plank increases the challenge of the standard plank by removing one of your “anchor points” with the ground. By lifting one leg, the weight shifts and forces your core to work harder to maintain balance and position.

Compared to the standard plank, this variation offers an anti-rotation element. Your body must resist twisting or tilting, which puts greater demands on your stabilising muscles.

4. Side Plank

The side plank shifts the focus from general core stability to the obliques and lateral stabilisers of the hips and spine. This is a great variation if you want to focus a bit more on your obliques.

5. Kneeling Side Plank

Just like in the regular plank, you can make the side plank easier by performing it on your knees. This is a great starting point if you feel like the side plank is too heavy. Remember to keep your hips in position the entire time.

6. Plank with Shoulder Taps

The plank with shoulder taps is a variation that adds a dynamic, anti-rotation challenge to the standard plank. This variation forces your core, glutes, and shoulders to work harder to prevent your hips from twisting or swaying as you shift your weight from side to side.

7. Copenhagen Plank

The Copenhagen plank is a challenging side plank variation that specifically targets the adductors in addition to the core and hip stabilisers. So the main focus of this plank variation is the muscles in the inner thigh, rather than the abs.

How Should You Train the Plank

We often include a section in these articles on how you should train the exercise if you want to build strength or muscles, in regards of sets and reps. But with bodyweight exercises, especially the ones that you do for time and not for reps, it’s a bit harder.

However, a good guideline could be when you’re able to keep the position for one- one and a half minute, it’s time to increase the difficulty of the exercise.

It’s important that you only keep doing the exercise for as long as you’re able to maintain a strict form. Don’t try a more difficult variation before mastering the one you’re currently at. We’re looking for quality over quantity.

Read More: How Many Reps to Build Muscle vs. Strength?

Training Programs & Workouts that Include the Plank

Here are some of our training programs and workouts that include the plank.

• StrengthLog’s Full Body Workout Routine. A full body workout routine offers numerous benefits for strength, muscle gain, and overall fitness.
• At-Home Strength Training Program Without Equipment. A beginner training program using your body weight where you train three times weekly. 
• Hardcore Ab Workout. An advanced and demanding abdominal workout, for any experienced lifter used to training the abdominal muscles and looking for new inspiration – or just a fun workout to challenge training buddies with.

All these and many more programs and workouts are available in our workout log app StrengthLog.

To download StrengthLog for free, use the button for your device below. StrengthLog helps you get the best results possible with hassle-free workout logging, 100% ad-free, including the free version.

Read more:

• The 10 Best Ab Exercises for Muscle and Strength
• How to Train Your Core Muscles: Exercises & Workout

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