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Exercise library · Abs

Plank

Core stability for the abs with your bodyweight.

How to do it

1 of 4

Elbows under your shoulders

  1. Starting position

    Rest on your forearms and toes with your elbows under your shoulders and your body straight.

  2. The movement

    Brace your abs and keep your body still in a straight line from head to heels.

Most common mistake

Don't let your hips sag, brace your abs and keep your pelvis in line with your body.

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Muscle group
Abs
Equipment
Bodyweight
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Time

Muscles worked

The plank is a static exercise in which your trunk works to keep your body straight against gravity. The rectus abdominis and the deeper transversus abdominis do most of the work, with help from the obliques. Your glutes and quads keep your hips and legs straight, while your shoulders and the muscles around your shoulder blades support your upper body. Squeezing your glutes and pulling your elbows towards your toes, without moving them, makes the plank much harder. Wider feet make it easier, narrower feet harder.

Common mistakes

  • Hips pointing at the ceiling. This makes the plank easier and gives your abs less to do. Lower your hips until your shoulders, hips and heels are in line, and squeeze your glutes to hold them there.
  • Holding your breath. You cannot hold a position for long without breathing. Keep your abs braced and take short, calm breaths throughout the set.
  • Chasing time with poor form. The clock only counts while your form holds. End the set when you can no longer keep the line.

Variations and alternatives

  • The dead bug is done lying on your back and is an easier way to train the same thing: keeping your back still while your arms and legs move.
  • The side plank moves the work to the side of your trunk and complements the regular plank.
  • Plank shoulder taps make the plank harder, as you lift one hand at a time and have to keep your hips still.
  • The ab wheel rollout is a clear step up once the plank feels easy, with the same job for your abs but far more load.

Sets and reps

The plank is measured in seconds, not reps. Two to four sets of 20 to 60 seconds suit most people. If you are new, start on your knees or with short holds of 10 to 20 seconds. End each set when your form starts to slip. If your back hurts, stop the exercise and have it looked at by a doctor or physiotherapist. The guide to sets and reps explains how sets and rest fit together.

Add 5 to 10 seconds at a time. Once you can hold a full minute with good form, making the exercise harder usually beats holding even longer: squeeze your glutes harder, bring your feet closer together or move to a harder variation. That is progressive overload, even without weights.

Also called

  • planka

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