Side Plank Exercise

For The Whole Core - Abs, Obliques, and Back

The side plank exercise is an excellent exercise for your core, and especially your lower back. Not surprisingly, research shows that muscular endurance in the lower back tends to reduce back problems. People with low muscle endurance in their lower back are much more likely to develop back problems.

Think of it this way, if you have the strength to support and stabilize your spine, it won’t suffer.

The side plank is an excellent way to measure lower back muscle endurance.  The longer you can hold a side plank in a straight line, the more muscle endurance you have.  A higher score will leave you less prone to back problems.

If you can hold a side plank for 60 seconds, you are doing pretty well.  If not, you probably need to work more on your core strength.

Technique

• Lie on your side with your knees straight.
• Prop your upper body up on your elbow and forearm.
• Contract your abs as tight as you can.
• Raise your hips until your body forms a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders.
• Keep the abs contracted and breathe deeply.
• Hold the position for 30 seconds.
• Turn around so your lying on your other side and repeat.
  

Keep In Mind... 

• Keep your head and neck in line with your body.
• You elbows should be directly under your shoulder.
• Do not allow your hips to sag or drift backwards.  Stay rigid.
• If you can’t hold the position for 30 seconds, start by holding for 5 to 10 seconds, rest for 5 seconds, and repeat as many times as you need to reach 30 seconds.
• The next time you do the side plank exercise, hold the position a little longer until you build up to 30 seconds.
  

Modifiers

Side Plank with a Stability Ball

Do the side plank with our elbow and forearm on a stability ball. The instability of the ball forces your core to work that much harder to keep your form.

Rolling Side Plank

You're going to like this one.

Start in a right side plank position. Hold that position for 2 seconds. Roll your body over on to both elbows into a plank position. Hold for 2 seconds. Roll up to a left side plank position. Hold for 2 seconds. That’s one rep. Make sure you stay rigid and straight throughout this movement.

Knee side plank

It is the side plank exercise except your knees are bent at a 90 degree angle and your knee is in contact with the ground instead of the outside of your foot.

This reduces the difficulty of the exercise because your body doesn’t have to hold as much weight.

This is a good exercise if you are just starting out.

Side plank with feet elevated on a bench

Elevating the feet increases the difficulty because you are holding more body weight.