Some of the top exercises may only last for a minute or two, but they can be incredibly challenging. Despite making you sweat and shake, these exercises are beneficial for toning your body, increasing muscle mass, and improving overall fitness. One example is the side plank, which is known for enhancing core strength.

The side plank involves supporting your body with one forearm and the side of your foot, keeping your body in a straight line to target your obliques. By incorporating this exercise into your routine, you can enhance core stability, which is crucial for various aspects such as balance, posture, and injury prevention.

Developing a strong core is essential as it serves as the foundation for your entire body, supporting essential functions like balance, stability, posture, and injury prevention. When holding a plank position, the longer you can sustain it, the greater the benefits you will experience. Although mastering this exercise may require time and practice, it is achievable with dedication.

Depending on your fitness level, here’s how long you should hold a side plank and how to build up endurance to hold one longer.

Why Side Planks are Effective

In order to function in your daily life, you need to have balance and stability. This is where side planks become an effective workout to strengthen your core through your obliques, rectus abdominis, and serratus anterior. Side planks will also help to reduce the risk of lower back pain and improve posture.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

How Long You Should Hold a Side Plan

-Beginner: As a beginner, you should hold a side plank for 15-30 seconds while focusing on form in order to properly target the right muscles.

-Intermediate: An intermediate-level person should be able to hold a plank for 30 seconds to one minute. It is important to maintain proper alignment as you challenge yourself to a longer hold.

-Advanced: At this level you should hold a plank from one minute to two minutes, the ultimate endurance test for your muscles.

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How to Perform the Perfect Side Plank

-Begin by laying on one side with your legs straight and feet stacked on top of the other.

-You want your bottom forearm directly under your shoulder.

-As you raise your hips off the ground, utilize your feet and forearm to help hold you while you engage your core muscles.

-Make sure to keep your body in a straight line to avoid dipping and potential discomfort.

Best Exercises to Improve a Plank

There are multiple exercises that are best to improve your side plank:

Side plank crunch: This will improve your side plank by specifically targeting your obliques through the addition of dynamic movement. It helps with more stability and control when doing a static side plank.

-Set up like a traditional side plan.

-Crunch your upper body and top leg toward each other for a selected amount of reps.

Ball side plank: Unlike a regular side plank, the ball side plank adds instability to the workout. The instability forces your core to work harder for a more intense workout as you balance on the ball.

-Place a ball under your bottom side in the same setup as a regular side plank, and then hold it for a selected duration.

Plank rotation: While the obliques are engaged in a normal side plank, this further works them along with your shoulder and core muscles for a complete workout. It will challenge your stability as you control the rotation to maintain a stable position with your core.

-While in a side plank hold, reach your top hand straight up and rotate down to bring your hand under your bottom side.

-Then rotate back up to the starting position.

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Knee side plank: The additional stability of your knees aids in activating your core muscles. This is a great modified version for a beginner or someone with less core strength to put a focus on form over challenge.

-For this, set up like a normal side plank, but keep your knees on the ground with your forearm supporting you.

Lateral plank walk: Like the other dynamic movements, this requires constant adjustment of your core muscles. It improves stability through the transverse abdominis muscle while challenging balance and control with the side-to-side movement. This leads to the regular side plank to feel like nothing.

-Position yourself in a push-up position, then move one hand out, followed by the other one. -From there, move the opposite hand you started within the first rep and repeat.

Side plank leg lift: Your hip abductors are critical in lateral stability, and this will emphasize the use of your hip abductors throughout the workout.

-Start in a regular side plank hold.

-Place your top hand on your waist.

-Control your top leg straight up and down for a desired amount of reps.