Bear Plank
The Bear Plank is a core stability exercise that engages multiple muscle groups.
- Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
- Lift your knees slightly off the ground, keeping your back flat and core engaged.
- Hold this position, maintaining a neutral spine and steady breathing.
How to perform the Bear Plank
- Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Bear Plank using your body weight.
- Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your abdominals.
- Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.
Coaching cues
- Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
- Drive force through your abdominals rather than momentum.
- Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.
Common mistakes
- Using too much weight and losing positional control.
- Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
- Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.
Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.
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View staged routine (0)Variations of Bear Plank
Bear Plank Kickback
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Dumbbell Bear Plank Alternating Row
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