Enter the Plank

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One of the most beloved (and hated) exercises ever is an exercise called the Plank. I’m sure you know what it is- holding yourself prone via your elbows and toes for a prescribed period of time.

I’ve done the plank twice so far this week, and its cousins: side plank, plank to pushup, and stiff arm plank. I’m going to have to work in the army crawl plank this week as well.

First off, why so much planking?

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I’m scheduled for a mud run on August 18, which I’m excited for- it’ll be my first, and a great way to end the summer season workout-wise. Mud runs are known for their obstacle courses, which require a lot of upper body, lower body, and core strength to accomplish. A well-known part of this is crawling through the mud. I want to have fun crawling through that, not thinking “oh my gosh I want this to be over with because my abs can’t take it anymore!”

Second, the reason I called this post “Enter the Plank”: the one described above isn’t the only plank out there. There are so many variations that make it fun to play with it (ie the plank’s cousins). I wanted to see if I could compile a great list of all the plank options out there. If you know one that you don’t see listed, feel free to add it in the comments!

Isometric Plank Variations

• Plank
• Side Plank
• Side Plank with 1 leg raised
• Stiff Arm/Strong Arm Plank
• Stiff Arm/Strong Arm Side Plank
• Strong Arm 2-point Plank (opposite arm, opposite leg raised)
• Strong Arm 3-point Plank Variations: 1-legged, 1-armed
• Strong Arm Side Plank with leg raised
• 3-point plank Variations: 1-legged, 1-armed
• 2-point plank (opposite arm, opposite leg raised)

Non-Isometric/Movement Oriented Plank Variations

• Plank to push-up Variation #1
• Plank to push-up Variation #2 (with an actual push-up included)
• Rolling Plank (kudos to the Bodyweight Coach/Shapeshifter team for that one)
• Spiderman Plank
• Army Crawl Plank
• Side Crawl Plank
• 10-second Plank (hold plank for 10 sec, then have knees touch ground and pop back up to hold, repeat for desired number of repetitions)
• Inchworm Plank (walk hands toward feet, then back out and hold for desired length of time, then repeat for desired number of repetitions)
• T-Ups/Plank Twist
• Renegade Rows (strong arm plank with back rows included!)
• Elbow Touch (easier variation of Renegade Rows, bodyweight only)

My best planking tip is to get your ab muscles to activate as much as possible. Have a partner (or yourself) tap on your stomach once you’re in the plank position, until you feel them tighten up. Also, I tuck my hips slightly under- it helps keep my back from sagging (one of the mortal sins of planking is having a sagging back!).

Your Experiences

What is your favorite Plank variation? Have you tried all the above?

Apparently there’s a 5-minute plank workout floating around the Inter-Webs; I had my hands on it once but have since lost it. Pretty much it involves holding several variations of the plank for a certain period of time until you hit 5 minutes, without losing the tension on the ab muscles. Crazy!

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