13 Plank Exercises and Variations To Strengthen Your Core

Why it’s great: Side planks provide activation in your abdominal muscles, including the rectus and transverse abdominis, the obliques, and the often-neglected quadratus lumborum.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your left side with your knees straight and your elbow beneath your shoulder.
2. Prop your body up using your left arm, raising your right hand toward the ceiling.
3. Brace your core, raise your hips, and hold for time.
4. Flip over and do the same thing with your right arm on the floor and your left hand raised instead.

Why it’s great: Take your standard side plank and raise your leg to form a star shape. This advanced move increases muscle activation, provides additional balance challenges, and looks pretty sweet too!

How to do it:

1. Get into your standard side forearm plank position, keeping your feet stacked on top of one another.
2. Raise your top leg into the air, forming about a 45-degree angle between the two legs.
3. Hold the position, then come back down and rest.
4. Switch sides and repeat.

Why it’s great: Like mountain climbers, plank jacks incorporate movement to produce a cardio stimulus and enhance results. They also target numerous muscles, making them a great lower back exercise while still working the rectus and transverse abdominis and obliques.

How to do it:

1. Get into your standard front plank position.
2. Kick out both feet as though you’re doing jumping jacks.
3. Bring them back together.
4. Repeat as needed.

Why it’s great: Plank toe taps are kinda like plank jacks in that you’re bringing your legs out to the sides. The key distinction is that you’re now doing one leg at a time, requiring more control.

How to do it:

1. Get into your standard front plank position.
2. Bring your left leg out to the side and tap your toe on the floor, then bring it back.
3. Do the same thing for your right leg, tapping your right foot, and return.
4. Repeat as needed.

Why it’s great: Plank shoulder taps are excellent for activating your posterior chain muscles, like the quads, glutes, and hammies, as well as your core, biceps, and triceps.

How to do it:

1. Get into a high plank position.
2. Tap your left shoulder with your right hand, keeping the left hand on the floor.
3. Come back to the starting position, now tap your right shoulder with your left hand.
4. Repeat as needed.

Why it’s great: Plank up-downs target all the usual muscles while adding movement. They’re also super versatile because you can alternate which limb moves first during each phase.

How to do it:

1. Start in the high plank position.
2. Drop down onto your right elbow, then drop onto your left elbow.
3. You’re now in a regular forearm plank.
4. To return to the high plank, you can do the same order, starting with the right and following with the left, or you can reverse it by planting your left hand first then doing your right hand.
5. You may repeat the same movements, or you may alternate and start with your left side on the next rep. It’s up to you.

Why it’s great: The push-up is hands down one of the best bodyweight compound exercises available. It hits all the spots you’d hit with a plank and then some, making it an overall more impactful exercise.

How to do it:

1. Get into the high plank position.
2. Tighten your core, breathe in, and lower your body to the floor. Your chest should touch the floor, ideally, but don’t lose tension at the bottom.
3. Push yourself back up, exhaling as you push.
4. Repeat as needed.

RELATED: Situps vs. Crunches Exercise

Why it’s great: The lateral plank walk requires you to sashay sideways across a room while holding a high plank. The inclusion of movement challenges your balance, while the movement itself is a great oblique workout.

How to do it:

1. Get into a high plank position.
2. “Take a step” by moving your right hand and right foot to the right.
3. Move your left hand and left foot next, returning to the original high plank position.
4. Repeat for the desired number of reps or until you’ve reached the desired distance, then do the same set leading with the left side now.

Why it’s great: Reaching overhead during your plank provides the same great core activation while improving shoulder mobility and flexibility as well.

How to do it:

1. Get into a regular forearm plank.
2. Reach one arm over your head in a full extension.
3. Place it back down, now repeat for the other side.
4. Repeat as needed.

Why it’s great: Like the regular side plank, you’re hitting the obliques a little harder, but the movement enhances the effect, making hip dips a good variation to the vanilla side plank.

How to do it:

1. Get into your regular side plank position.
2. Let your hips dip down, almost touching the floor.
3. Pop them back up, repeat for the desired number of reps, then switch sides.

Why it’s great: Like sit-ups, the side plank crunch adds a crunching movement for increased muscle activation. You’ll also hit the upper back, shoulders, and external obliques.

How to do it:

1. Get into the side plank position.
2. Bring the elbow of your free arm toward your leg, simultaneously bringing the top leg up towards your elbow so the knee and elbow may lightly touch.
3. Return to the starting position.
4. Repeat as needed.