Side Plank

• Assume the position shown in fig. 1. Hold your body in a straight line as shown by the black line. The only body parts in contact with the floor are the elbow of the support arm and the outside edge of the bottom foot. The elbow should be placed on the ground in the line of the shoulders.


• Attempt to hold the position without allowing your hips to sag for a period of 5-20 seconds then briefly rest and repeat on the opposite side. It is important that you not only keep your body in a straight line if viewed from the front as in picture 1 but also in a straight line if viewed by someone looking from the top of the head down to the feet. It is common for weaker participants to push the hips out behind the body to make the exercise slightly easier.


• An advanced version of the exercise is shown in fig. 2. Here the body is supported on the hand rather than the elbow.


• To further advance this exercise and place additional stress on the abdominal and gluteal muscles the top foot can be lifted (fig. 3 and 4). The aim should be to hold the position with one leg raised in the air for 5-10 seconds before returning to the double leg position.