The plank is a hold, not a rep: you support yourself on forearms and toes with a straight line from head to heels, and the abs work to stop your hips sagging. It is the simplest way to train the trunk against a load trying to bend it backwards, and it needs no equipment and no space beyond your own length.
How to do it
- Elbows under the shoulders, body in one line from head to heels.
- Squeeze the glutes and tuck the ribs down — a plank is a brace, not a hold.
Common mistakes
- Adding minutes instead of tension. If you can hold two minutes, make it harder, not longer.
What it trains
- Abs
- hold the ribcage and pelvis together against gravity pulling the hips down
- Obliques
- stop the torso twisting and keep the hips square
- Glutes
- squeeze to keep the hips level — an unsqueezed plank sags no matter how strong the abs are
- Shoulders and upper back
- hold the forearm position, which is often what aches first
Variations and alternatives
Common questions
How long should I hold a plank?
Until your form breaks, and for most people that is somewhere between 20 and 60 seconds. A minute of a good plank is a solid result; chasing five-minute holds turns it into an endurance stunt and stops training the muscle in any useful way.
How do I make planks harder without just holding longer?
Add load. A plate on your upper back is the cleanest step, and lifting one foot or one arm is the free version. Both keep the hold in the 30 to 60 second window where it is actually hard, which is a better use of the set than adding another minute.
Why do my shoulders hurt more than my abs during a plank?
Usually because your elbows are too far forward or your hips are too high, so the weight is stacked on the shoulders instead of held by the trunk. Elbows directly under the shoulders, hips down in line with the ribs, and the abs get the work back.
How do I track a plank in a workout log?
By time, not reps, and by added weight if you use any. StackUp logs duration-based exercises with their own timer, so a 45-second hold and a 45-second hold with a 10 kg plate are recorded as the different sets they are.
In StackUp. Logged with a stopwatch that keeps running if you leave the app. Get the app.
Core
