- Jamie Honour
Basic Plank Hold
Planks are one of the best exercises to improve performance and activate the core. Simple but hard to get right here is a list of the important activation cues also demonstrated in this short video.
* screw the hands into the floor point elbows back
* Wrists under shoulders
* Actively pressing the floor
* Protracted shoulder blades
* Depression of the shoulder blades
* Posterior pelvic tilt
* Draw the belly button in contract the abdominals
* Squeeze the glutes and legs
Mastering the basic hold with quality comes first then we can progress duration and complexity. There are hundreds of plank variations/progressions which look great but take your time to master the basic hold first let your body adapt to the cues stay consistent and progress slowly.
Plank progression
Now you have mastered the plank hold and can successfully hold the position for 45 seconds check out the video link below to try some plank progressions. Choose one variation and see if you can perform 3 sets of 10 reps maintaining correct activation and form for each set, rest 30 - 60 seconds between sets.
Variation/progression list.
Toe taps
Mountain climber
Shoulder taps
Renegade rows
Straight arm raise
Up down plank