Planks are one of my favorite exercises! Planks work your entire core, from the top of your abdominals down to your hips and glutes, and also provide a great isometric exercise for your upper back and shoulders. The strength that planks provide will benefit your swim, bike, and run. It's difficult to get bored with planks, since there are so many variations. You can even get creative and make up your own plank exercises.
Here are some plank variations below, ranging from basic to more challenging.
Basic Low Plank
High Plank
Plank with forward touch
Plank with side toe touches
Plank with hip dips
Side Plank & Side Plank with dips
Side Plank with raised leg
Side Plank reach through
Plank with leg raises
Dolphin Plank
High-to-Low Plank
Plank with forward reach
Superman Plank
Spiderman Plank
If you need more inspiration, check out this video.
Goal: This is a full-body strength training circuit for anyone who is new to strength training, or for more experienced athletes that want to focus on basic movements.
Equipment: No equipment = No excuses Time: 20+ minutes
Warm-Up
(5-8 minutes)
Pelvic Circles - 10 circles each direction
Runner's Lunge with a twist - hold 30 seconds, then raise the outside arm and hold for another 30 sec. Switch legs and repeat
Walking quad stretch - 8-10 reps each leg
Walking knee-to-chest - 8-10 reps each leg. Pull your knee to your chest, take a step forward. Repeat with the other leg.
Caterpillar - 10 reps
Core Set
(5 minutes)
Do the time or reps indicated for each exercise. Rest 30-45 seconds between exercises. Repeat this set 2-3x's.
Crunches - 10 reps. Pull your shoulders off the ground by using your core. Imagine someone is pulling your chest straight up to the ceiling with a string. Don't pull your chin in toward your chest and yank your neck off the ground.
Advanced variations: (1) Increase reps to 15-20, (2) Raise feet off the ground so toes are point up toward the ceiling.
Supported Side Plank with side dip - Hold for 30 seconds. Rest for 30 seconds. Hold the other side for 30 seconds. Once this gets comfortable (after a few weeks of consistent work), lift your supporting leg so that you stack your legs on top of each other.
Advanced variations: (1) Remove the supporting knee so you are planking on both of your feet, (2) Dip the hip, (3) Raise the top leg (very advanced!)
Bird Dog (with crunch) - 10 reps on one side. Rest 30 sec. 10 reps on the other side. Make it slow and controlled. The goal is balance. Instead of doing the crunches sometime, see if you can hold each side for 10-15 seconds.
Lower/Upper Body Set
(10 minutes) Repeat this set 1-2 x's
Knee Push-ups - 5-10 reps. Once the knee push-ups are feeling comfortable, do regular push-ups. You can start slowly by adding in 1 regular push-up to your routine each week. Rest 1 min.
Advanced variation: Regular push-ups
Full Body Squats - 10 reps. For a more advanced version of Body Squats, try it with your arms extended over your head. Rest 1 min.
Advanced variations: (1) Increase reps, (2) Add weight by holding a dumbbell in each hand.
Body Squats
Single-leg Balance - 15-30 seconds on each leg. Stand in a tall mountain pose. Slowly lift one foot off the ground ~6 inches. Bend the supporting leg ever so slightly. Balance on one leg for 15-30 seconds. Rest for 30 seconds, then switch legs. Repeat 2x's.
Advanced variation: (1) try closing your eyes while balancing, (2) Single leg squat - squat the leg that you are standing on
Glute Bridge - 10 reps. Rest for 30 seconds.
Advanced variations: (1) Single-leg glute brige - raise one foot ~1 ft. off the ground so you are bridging with just one leg, (2) Rest your feet on a foam roller or a stability ball
