What is the Plank Jumping Jack?
The Plank Jumping Jack is a core and conditioning exercise where you hold a high plank and jump your feet out and in. It mainly trains your abs and obliques to keep your body steady while your legs move. It also raises your heart rate.
Quick facts
- Level: Beginner
- Equipment: None (bodyweight)
- Movement pattern: Plank / anti-extension
- Force: Push and hold
- Type: Compound
- Sides: Both legs together
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
- Abs (rectus abdominis)
- Obliques
- Transverse abdominis
Secondary muscles
- Front deltoids
- Gluteus medius
- Adductors (inner thigh)
- Calves
Your shoulders hold your upper body up the whole time. The muscles on the outside and inside of your hips move your legs out and pull them back in.
How to do the Plank Jumping Jack
- Setup: Start in a high plank with your hands under your shoulders and your arms straight.
- Start: Make a straight line from your head to your heels. Brace your core and squeeze your glutes.
- Move: Jump both feet out wider than your hips.
- Move: Jump them straight back together.
- Repeat: Keep jumping out and in at a steady pace. Keep your hips level and breathe steadily.
- Finish: Bring your feet together and lower your knees to the floor to rest.
Coaching cues
- Keep your hips low and still.
- Land lightly on the balls of your feet.
- Push the floor away with your hands.
Common mistakes
- Letting the hips bounce up and down. Slow down and brace harder. Only your feet should move.
- Letting the lower back sag. Squeeze your glutes and tuck your pelvis slightly. Rest when you can’t hold the line.
- Shoulders drifting behind the hands. Keep your shoulders stacked over your wrists.
Easier and harder options
- Easier: Plank step-out. Step one foot out and in at a time instead of jumping.
- Harder: Plank jack with shoulder taps. Tap one hand to the opposite shoulder between jumps. Your core must resist twisting while one hand is off the floor.
Training focus and energy demand
This exercise trains core muscle endurance and is often used in circuits for conditioning.
Your energy systems work together, and the mix changes with speed, how long you go and how much you rest. Short, fast bursts lean more on energy stored in the muscle. Longer bouts, like timed circuit rounds, 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
Is this a cardio exercise or a core exercise?
It is both. Your core works to hold the plank while the quick foot movement raises your heart rate.