Bodyweight — core

Plank

None

The plank is the most fundamental core exercise and trains the lower back and abs isometrically. Core strength transfers to every other lift and protects the spine.

The plank trains the core to resist movement rather than create it, which is what the core mostly does in real lifting — bracing under a heavy squat, staying rigid in a deadlift. That is why it transfers well despite looking passive. It is also widely misused: holding one for five minutes proves endurance and nothing more.

Technique

1. 1Elbows under your shoulders, forearms on the floor
2. 2Body in a straight line — do not pike your hips or let them sag
3. 3Brace everything: squeeze your glutes, tighten your abs, pull your elbows toward your toes
4. 4Breathe normally — do not hold your breath
5. 5Progressions: raise one arm or leg, or use an unstable surface

Common mistakes

• Hips sagging toward the floor

  Fix: Squeeze the glutes hard. A sagging plank loads the lower back passively and trains almost nothing.

• Hips piked up into an easier position

  Fix: Shoulders, hips and heels in one line. Raising the hips reduces the demand to nearly zero.

• Chasing longer and longer holds

  Fix: Past about 60 seconds you are training endurance. Make it harder instead — lift a limb, add load, use an unstable surface.

• Holding the breath

  Fix: Breathe normally throughout. If you cannot, the position is too hard or you are over-bracing.

Sets and reps

How to progress

Once you can hold 60 clean seconds, stop adding time. Progress to single-limb variations, add a plate on the back, or move to harder anti-rotation work such as Pallof presses and ab wheel rollouts. Three sets of 30–45 hard seconds beats one soft three-minute hold.

Variations

• Side plank

  Trains the obliques and lateral stability, which the standard plank barely touches.

• RKC plank

  Maximum full-body tension — glutes, quads and abs squeezed hard. Ten seconds is genuinely difficult.

• Plank with reach

  Lifting one arm or leg forces the core to resist rotation, which is closer to what it does in real life.

Frequently asked questions