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Side planks serve as a remarkable gauge for assessing the strength and stability of your core.
Incorporating side planks into your fitness regimen can be highly beneficial. This isometric exercise, which requires you to hold your body weight on one side, effectively engages your core muscles. The advantages of side planks are numerous; they fortify your midsection, enhance coordination and stability, safeguard your spine, and minimize the risk of back injuries. They stand out as a superior method for evaluating core stability.
We had a discussion with Karen Ann Canham, CEO and founder of Karen Ann Wellness, who is a board-certified wellness coach and a specialist in the nervous system. With nearly 20 years of expertise in wellness and corporate leadership, she shared insights on the optimal duration for holding a side plank post-60, ensuring that your core stability remains in peak condition.
As you age, maintaining a strong and stable core becomes increasingly vital for safe and effective movement.
Why Core Stability Matters
A strong, stable core is one of the most critical foundations of safe movement as you grow older.
“A strong core helps: maintain upright posture, reducing strain on the spine; stabilize the pelvis during walking, which improves gait efficiency; improve balance reactions when the body is pushed or shifts unexpectedly; [and] reduce fall risk, especially during movements like stepping, turning, or reaching,” Canham notes. “Research consistently shows that older adults with stronger core and hip stabilizers have better balance control and greater confidence in daily movement.”
If You Can Hold a Side Plank This Long After 60, Your Core Stability Is Top-Tier
For those 60+, core endurance benchmarks shift naturally due to joint tolerance, muscle mass, and recovery capacity.
“A solid baseline for most healthy adults over 60 is holding a side plank for 15 to 25 seconds per side with good form,” says Canham. “An above-average hold would be 30 to 45 seconds per side, while 60 seconds or more with stable alignment would be considered exceptional for this age group.”
What’s most important is maintaining solid alignment. This means keeping your shoulders stacked, spine neutral, and hips lifted rather than aiming for a longer time while using poor form.
Muscles Side Planks Activate
Side planks engage several important stabilizing muscles that work in unison to support the pelvis and spine. The main muscles fired up in side planks include the obliques, glute medius, glute maximus, transverse abdominis (also known as the deep “corset” muscle), and quadratus lumborum.
“Together, these muscles create a strong lateral support system for the spine, allowing the body to resist side-to-side movement,” Canham tells us.
Side Planks Train Anti-Lateral Flexion
While classic front planks mainly challenge anti-extension strength—which helps your lower back resist arching—side planks train anti-lateral flexion. This means your body must resist the urge to bend sideways.
“This is particularly important because many balance challenges in everyday life occur side-to-side, such as stepping off a curb, carrying a bag, or recovering from a stumble,” Canham explains. “Side planks also activate the obliques and hip stabilizers more directly than front planks, making them especially valuable for improving lateral stability and fall resistance in older adults.”