What is the Plank Get-Up?
The Plank Get-Up is a core exercise where you move from a forearm plank to a high plank and back, one arm at a time. It mainly trains your abs and obliques to keep your body still while your arms move. Your triceps and shoulders do the pushing.
Quick facts
- Level: Advanced
- Equipment: None (bodyweight)
- Movement pattern: Plank (anti-rotation) with arm push
- Force: Push and hold
- Type: Compound
- Sides: Alternating arms
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
- Abs (rectus abdominis)
- Obliques
- Transverse abdominis
Secondary muscles
- Triceps
- Front deltoids
- Chest (pectoralis major)
- Serratus anterior
- Gluteus maximus
How to do the Plank Get-Up
- Setup: Get into a forearm plank with your elbows under your shoulders.
- Start: Make a straight line from your head to your heels. Brace your core and squeeze your glutes.
- Move: Place one hand flat on the floor and press up until that arm is straight.
- Move: Press up with the other hand. You are now in a high plank.
- Return: Lower one forearm back to the floor, then the other.
- Repeat: Switch the arm that leads on each rep. Keep your hips level the whole time.
Coaching cues
- Keep your hips still, as if a cup of water sits on your lower back.
- Move one arm at a time.
- Squeeze your glutes.
Common mistakes
- Rocking the hips side to side. Widen your feet a little and slow down. Your hips should barely move.
- Letting the hips sag. Brace your abs and squeeze your glutes. Rest when you can’t hold a straight line.
- Piking the hips up. Keep your body in one line from head to heels.
- Rushing the reps. Place each hand with control. Speed makes it harder to keep your hips still.
Easier and harder options
- Easier: Kneeling plank get-up. Do the same movement with your knees on the floor.
- Harder: Plank get-up with a pause. Pause for a moment in the high plank on each rep, which keeps your core working longer.
Training focus and energy demand
This exercise trains core strength and muscle endurance. People also use it in circuits for conditioning.
Your body uses several energy systems at once, and the mix changes with effort, speed and how long you work. Short, hard bursts lean more on fast energy stored in the muscle. Longer timed sets with short rests draw more on aerobic energy. Hard efforts that last from several seconds to a few minutes also rely heavily on energy your muscles make quickly from carbohydrate.
FAQs
Should I wear anything on my forearms?
A mat or folded towel under your forearms makes the bottom position more comfortable on a hard floor.
Should I lead with the same arm every time?
No. Switch the lead arm each rep so both sides do the same work.