Front Plank
Strengthen your entire core, shoulders, and glutes with the Front Plank. This static exercise builds abdominal endurance and improves postural stability.
Variations of Front Plank
Front Plank Toe Tap
Engage your core and glutes with the Front Plank Toe Tap. Maintain a strong plank while tapping your toes to the side for improved stability.
One Arm Front Plank
Challenge your core stability and strengthen your obliques and rectus abdominis with the One Arm Front Plank.
Front Plank with Twist
Perform a dynamic front plank with a torso twist, bringing your elbow to the opposite knee.
Front Lever
Master the Front Lever, a challenging static bodyweight hold, to build immense core, back, and arm strength. Elevate your calisthenics game.
Description
A core exercise where you maintain a position similar to a push-up for the maximum possible time.
Save Front Plank to a routine
Log sets, reps, and weight as you train — free in the Ellim app.
How to Do Front Plank
- 1Setup
Begin on your hands and knees, then lower yourself onto your forearms, ensuring your elbows are directly beneath your shoulders.
- 2Setup
Extend your legs straight back, resting on the balls of your feet, so your body forms a straight line from the top of your head to your heels.
- 3Setup
Keep your hands either clasped together or with palms flat on the floor, maintaining a neutral spine by looking at the floor slightly ahead of you.
- 4
Engage your core by bracing your abdominal muscles as if preparing for a punch, actively squeezing your glutes and quadriceps.
- 5
Ensure your hips remain in line with your shoulders and ankles, avoiding any sagging or piking upwards.
- 6
Breathe deeply and steadily throughout the hold, maintaining this rigid, stable position for the desired duration.
Tips
- Focus on creating tension throughout your entire body, from your forearms pressing into the floor to your heels pushing back, to maximize stability.
- Imagine you are balancing a glass of water on your lower back to help maintain a perfectly flat and neutral spinal alignment.
- Actively squeeze your glutes and quads; this additional muscle engagement helps support your lower back and prevents your hips from dropping.
- Keep your gaze fixed on a spot on the floor a few inches in front of your hands to maintain a neutral neck position and avoid strain.
Common Mistakes
- ×Allowing your hips to sag towards the floor disengages the core; fix this by actively squeezing your glutes and bracing your abdominals to lift your hips into alignment with your shoulders and heels.
- ×Piking your hips too high, resembling a downward dog, reduces the challenge on your core; correct this by lowering your hips until your body forms a straight line, actively engaging your rectus abdominis.
- ×Craning your neck up or letting it drop excessively can cause strain; maintain a neutral neck by keeping your gaze on the floor slightly ahead of your hands, aligning your head with your spine.
In the Ellim app, Front Plank unlocks
Free — no subscription needed
Log sets, reps, and weight
Track every set as you train
See your strength curve
Performance graphs across all sessions
Add to a routine
Save into a custom workout in one tap
Rest timer with Live Activity
Dynamic Island countdown between sets
HealthKit sync
Workouts flow to Apple Health
3,500+ exercise library
Search, filter, and pick variations offline
Ready to train front plank?
Get Ellim — FreeFrequently Asked Questions
What muscles does Front Plank work?
Is Front Plank good for beginners?
What equipment do I need for Front Plank?
What are the best tips for Front Plank?
What are common mistakes when doing Front Plank?
Related Exercises
Vertical Sit-Up
Perform the vertical sit-up to strengthen your rectus abdominis and hip flexors. Lie on your back, lift legs vertically, then crunch your torso towards
Plank Jack
Combine core stability with cardio. Plank Jacks strengthen your abs, glutes, and hips while elevating your heart rate for a full-body challenge.
Kneeling plank
Strengthen your core with the kneeling plank, a modified plank that builds abdominal endurance and stability.
Plank on Hands
Strengthen your core, shoulders, and hips with the Plank on Hands. This fundamental bodyweight exercise builds full-body stability and endurance.
Dumbbell Complex Push-up Row Clean and Press
The ultimate full-body dumbbell complex combining a push-up, row, clean, and overhead press in one flow.
Dumbbell Renegade Row to Squat
Build total-body strength with this demanding complex combining renegade rows and explosive squats.
Track every rep of Front Plank.
Watch your weight climb session by session. See your strength curve. Add it to a routine you'll actually run.
Get Ellim — Free