Side Plank
The plank's harder sibling — the side wall of your core, built one hold at a time.
Setup
- On your side: elbow under shoulder, feet stacked.
- Lift hips until head-to-heels is one straight line.
How To Do It
- Hold with everything squeezed — glutes, obliques, quads.
- Breathe steadily behind the brace.
- 20–40 quality seconds per side.
Breathing
Steady shallow breaths, never held.
Common Mistakes
- Hips sagging toward the floor — lift and lock.
- Rolling forward or back — stacked and square.
Programming It
Three holds of 20-45 seconds per side.
Why This Exercise Works
The side plank loads the obliques and the glute medius to resist the body folding sideways. It is the frontal-plane counterpart of the plank, and it is the one people skip — which is why side-to-side trunk differences are so common.
Where You Should Feel It
The obliques and the underside glute holding you from folding sideways. It is the frontal-plane counterpart to a plank and the one almost everyone skips.
Where It Fits in a Program
The plank's harder sibling — the side wall of your core, built one hold at a time. Hold work sits anywhere. Use it as a finisher, or between sets of something heavy.
Progressing and Regressing It
To progress the side plank: lift the top leg, or extend the top arm overhead. To regress it: drop to the bottom knee, or plank against a bench.
Who It's For
Anyone whose trunk training is all front-on. Side-to-side differences are common and this is where they show up.
Equipment and Substitutions
Nothing to buy and nowhere to be — which is the point. If it is too easy, the harder variations below are the progression, not added weight.
Related Exercises
- Band Woodchop — Obliques, Core
- Cable Woodchop — Obliques, Core
- Pallof Press — Core, Obliques
- Kettlebell Windmill — Obliques, Shoulders, Hamstrings
- Bicycle Crunch — Abs, Obliques
- Mountain Climbers — Core, Conditioning
- Bird Dog — Core, Low Back, Glutes
- Reverse Crunch — Abs, Hip Flexors
Common Questions
What muscles does the side plank work?
The side plank primarily trains the obliques, core.
How many sets and reps should I do?
Three holds of 20-45 seconds per side.
What are the most common side plank mistakes?
Most often: hips sagging toward the floor; rolling forward or back.
Can I do this without any equipment?
Yes — this version needs no equipment at all. It trains the obliques, core using bodyweight alone, which is why it travels well and works as a warm-up, a substitute, or a full session on its own.
Is this safe if I have an existing injury?
The lower back does real work in the side plank. If you have a history there, keep the load conservative and stop the moment a rep reproduces your own pain rather than ordinary effort. Not medical advice.