Core · Obliques

Side plank

How to do a side plank correctly: body alignment, elbow placement, how long to hold it, common mistakes and easier or harder variations.

The side plank is held on your side, supported on one forearm and the edge of one foot, with your body in a straight line. It trains your core's ability to resist side bending, a key function for carrying weight on one side or walking on uneven ground.

Muscles worked

The obliques and quadratus lumborum on the bottom side hold your torso up. The glute medius keeps your hips from sagging, and the supporting shoulder stabilizes the whole body.

How to do it

1. Lie on your side with your elbow directly under your shoulder and your forearm pointing forward.
2. Straighten your legs and stack one foot on the other, or place one in front for more stability.
3. Lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from head to feet.
4. Hold the position, breathing normally, for the prescribed time.
5. Switch sides.

Common mistakes

• Sagging hips, which takes work away from the obliques.
• Torso rotated toward the floor or the ceiling.
• Elbow away from the shoulder, which overloads the joint.
• Holding your breath.

Variations

• Easier: knees bent and on the floor.
• Harder: lift the top leg, or do hip dips up and down.

Start with 15–30 second holds per side.

Precautions

It loads the shoulder, elbow and ankle. If your supporting shoulder bothers you, the cable Pallof press trains the obliques standing, with no support.

Alternatives with less joint load

They train the same muscle group. Highlighted joints are also loaded by the exercise on this page.

• Pallof press · Core stability
  • No significant joint load
• Bicycle crunch · Rotation
  • Neck
• Heel touches · Crunch
  • Neck
• Machine torso rotation · Rotation
  • Lower back
• Russian twist · Rotation
  • Lower back

If you have an injury, pain or a medical condition, check with a professional before doing this exercise.