Side Plank

The Side Plank strengthens your core, shoulders, and hips. It improves stability and balance.

  1. Start by lying on your side with your legs straight.
  2. Prop yourself up on your elbow, keeping your body in a straight line.
  3. Engage your core and lift your hips off the ground.
  4. Hold the position for the desired time, then lower back down.

How to perform the Side Plank

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Side Plank using your body weight.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your abdominals.
  3. 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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Variations of Side Plank

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