This deceptively challenging plank variation improves shoulder and scapular stability, and strengthens the posterior core muscles.
Coaching Tips:
- Place each elbow on a bench or other stable surface, and point your forearms up towards the ceiling.
- Set yourself up so you are in a single leg bodyweight hip thrust. Your head, torso, and hips should be in a stacked position. Your chin should remain tucked and neck in a neutral position.
- Lightly press your tongue against the roof of your mouth (behind your upper front teeth). This subtle trick can make keeping your head and neck from collapsing much easier.
- Keep your shin in a relatively vertical position.
- Take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), tuck your ribs towards your hips (close the space in your midsection/wrinkle the front of your shirt), and squeeze your glutes.
- Press your elbows into the benches/drive your body towards the ceiling and retract your shoulder blades (move each one in towards your spine).
- Hold for the target amount of time.
- For the duration of the exercise, maintain this press. You should really feel the muscles around your shoulder blades, and the back of your shoulders.
- For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your shoulders to shrug, or shoulder blades to elevate.
- For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your knee to fall inside or outside of your foot.
- For the duration of the exercise, your head, torso, and hips should remain in a stacked position. Do not allow your spine to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, torso, spine, or hips to rotate, or hips to collapse.
- For the duration of the exercise, keep your core braced (360 degree brace around your spine), and squeeze your glutes.
- In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.
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