The plank is one of the best core exercises you can do, because it trains your midsection to resist movement, the way your core actually works in real life, without loading your spine the way sit-ups do.
Once the standard plank gets easy, you can progress by changing the angle, narrowing your base, adding movement, or adding weight. These variations add a new challenge, or alter the muscle groups being worked, to deliver a full range of benefits from this relatively simple exercise.
Below are 17 plank variations, as well as the biggest reasons why planks are one of the most efficient and versatile core exercises you can do.
Why the Plank Is Such a Good Exercise
The plank could be the most underrated exercise you can do. It’s simple, it requires zero equipment, and (usually) no movement. Yet that’s part of what makes it so powerful.
Here are the top reasons why the humble plank is worth doing:
It trains your whole anterior core at once
When you hold a front plank, your rectus abdominis (the "six-pack" muscle), external obliques, and internal obliques all get worked. That makes this single exercise a super efficient way to build all-round core strength.
It's easier on your spine than sit-ups
Isometric core holds like planks produce high muscle activation with low compression and shear on the lumbar spine.
In comparison, other popular core exercises like sit-ups and crunches load the spine in flexion over and over, which can potentially lead to lower back issues, or cause problems for those with existing back issues.
It may help your blood pressure
Here's a benefit most people don't expect. A large 2023 network meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, pooling 270 trials and nearly 16,000 participants, found that isometric exercise (like wall sits and planks) produced the largest reductions in resting blood pressure of any exercise type studied; an average drop of about 8/4 mmHg.
That's a meaningful effect, comparable to some single blood-pressure medications. Planks aren't a substitute for medical care, but the static-hold style of training appears to do more than just building core endurance.
It builds core endurance, not just strength
Timed holds like planks are great for building muscular endurance, an often neglected quality in workout routines.
The ability to keep your trunk braced for an extended period is what protects your spine during long days on your feet, repeated lifts, and athletic efforts, and helps your overall strength and power go further.
How to Do a Proper Plank
Most people think they know how to do a regular plank. It seems simple. But there are some small nuances to it, and with an exercise like this, form is literally everything.
Here’s how to do it properly:
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Set your forearms. Lie face down and prop yourself on your forearms, elbows directly under your shoulders, forearms parallel or hands clasped.
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Come up onto your toes. Lift your hips so your body forms one straight line from your heels to the back of your head.
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Brace. Tighten your abs like you're about to take a punch, squeeze your glutes, and pull your kneecaps up by flexing your quads.
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Set your head and hips. Keep your neck neutral (eyes on the floor, not craning up) and resist the urge to let your hips drift up into a pike or sag toward the floor.
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Breathe. Keep breathing in short, controlled breaths while staying braced. Don't hold your breath.
A good working hold is anywhere from 20 to 60 seconds for 2 to 4 sets. Progression is straightforward: once you’ve got the form right, try holding a little longer each time.
Focus on perfecting the basic plank first. But once you’ve got this down and you want a little variety, increased difficulty, or a stronger focus on a particular aspect, you can check out one of the plank variations below.
The Best Plank Variations for Core Stability
These keep the same anti-extension demand as the standard plank but raise the difficulty by changing your leverage or base of support.
High Plank (Straight-Arm Plank)
Hold the top of a push-up position with arms extended and hands under your shoulders. Shifting the support to your hands brings your shoulders, chest, and triceps more into play, and it's the starting position for most of the dynamic variations below. Good for building pressing-position stability and a useful base to learn from.
RKC Plank
A standard forearm plank with the intensity turned up. Pull your elbows back toward your toes (without actually moving them), squeeze your glutes as hard as you can, and brace your abs maximally. You create your own tension, which means even a 10 to 20 second hold is brutally hard. Best for teaching maximal full-body bracing in a short hold.
Long-Lever Plank
Walk your elbows forward so they sit ahead of your shoulders instead of under them. Moving your support point farther from your center of mass dramatically increases the load on your abs. Add this when standard planks feel too easy but you don't want to add time.
Plank with Arm or Leg Lift
From a forearm or high plank, lift one arm or one leg off the floor and hold. Removing a point of contact forces your core to resist rotation and keep your hips square. Builds anti-rotation control and exposes side-to-side imbalances. Progress to lifting an opposite arm and leg together.
Stability Ball Plank
Place your forearms on a stability ball instead of the floor. The unstable surface makes your core work overtime to keep the ball still, which increases core muscle activation compared with a stable floor plank. Good for adding difficulty without adding load or time. You can also elevate your feet on the ball instead.
The Best Plank Variations to Build Side and Rotational Strength
The front plank trains the front of your core. These hit the sides; your obliques and the deep muscles that resist sideways bending and twisting.
Side Plank
Lie on your side, prop up on one forearm with your elbow under your shoulder, and lift your hips so your body forms a straight line. This is an anti-lateral-flexion exercise: it builds the obliques and quadratus lumborum that keep you from collapsing sideways. It's a cornerstone for back health and a must if you only add one new plank.
Side Plank with Hip Dips
From a side plank, lower your hip toward the floor and lift it back up under control. Adding movement turns the static hold into dynamic oblique work, building strength through a range of motion rather than just holding position.
Side Plank with Leg Raise (Star Plank)
Hold a side plank and lift your top leg toward the ceiling. This widens your base demand and adds a hip abduction challenge to the oblique work. An advanced option once a standard side plank feels stable.
Copenhagen Plank
A side plank where your top leg rests on a bench and your bottom leg hangs free, so you support yourself between your forearm and your raised inner thigh. This loads the hip adductors hard and is popular for building groin strength and reducing adductor injury risk in athletes. Treat it as an advanced variation and ease into the range.
The Best Dynamic Plank Variations That Build Control and Conditioning
These add movement to the plank, so your core has to keep your spine stable while your limbs move. They double as low-impact conditioning.
Plank Shoulder Taps
From a high plank, tap one hand to the opposite shoulder, then alternate. The goal is to keep your hips dead still while your weight shifts, which is anti-rotation training in disguise. Widen your feet to make it easier, narrow them to make it harder.
Plank Up-Downs (Plank Walk-Ups)
Start in a forearm plank, press up to a high plank one arm at a time, then lower back down. This trains your core to resist rotation through the transition and adds a shoulder and triceps conditioning element. Great as a finisher.
Plank Reach (Plank Reach-Outs)
From a forearm or high plank, reach one arm straight out in front of you and hold briefly before switching. Extending your arm lengthens the lever and forces your core to fight both rotation and extension. Builds the same control as the arm lift with an added reach demand.
Plank Jacks
In a high or forearm plank, jump your feet out wide and back together like a horizontal jumping jack. Your core has to resist the bounce and keep your hips from swinging, while your heart rate climbs. A good bridge between core work and cardio.
Mountain Climbers
From a high plank, drive one knee toward your chest, then switch legs in a running motion. The faster you go, the more it becomes conditioning; slower and more controlled, it's hip-flexion core work with constant anti-extension demand. Keep your hips low and level rather than piking up.
Body Saw
In a forearm plank, push your body backward and forward a few inches using your toes, keeping everything else rigid. The shifting lever length means your abs are loaded through the whole range. One of the most effective ways to ramp up anterior core demand without weight.
The Best Loaded Plank Variations for Strength Gains
Once stability isn't the limiting factor, you can add external resistance to keep building strength.
Weighted Plank
Hold a standard plank with a weight plate resting on your upper back (have someone place it there). This is a great way to apply progressive overload to a plank: add weight over time instead of adding minutes. Best for people who can already hold a clean plank well past a minute.
Plank Pull-Through (Drag)
In a high plank with a dumbbell or kettlebell beside one wrist, reach under your body with the opposite hand and drag the weight to the other side, then alternate. Dragging a load across your body creates a strong anti-rotation challenge on top of the plank hold. A great loaded option that needs minimal equipment.
The Bottom Line
The plank is one of the most effective core exercises you can do. It trains your midsection to do its real job, holding your spine stable, while sparing your back the repeated loading of sit-ups.
The research links isometric core training to better low-back outcomes and even lower blood pressure. And it’s the kind of strength training that you’re probably not getting from a basic resistance training routine.
If you want to build better core strength, muscular endurance, and (importantly) chiseled abs and side-abs, planks are the way to go; from the basic plank that you probably know already, to variations such as side planks, stability ball planks and shoulder taps that add a new layer of difficulty (and benefits) to this amazing exercise.