Plank Jack

Description

How to Do Plank Jack

1. 1
   Setup

   Begin in a high plank position with your hands directly beneath your shoulders, fingers spread, and your body forming a straight line from head to heels.

2. 2
   Setup

   Engage your core, glutes, and quadriceps to stabilize your torso and prevent any sagging or piking of your hips.

3. 3

   Keeping your upper body completely stable and core tightly braced, quickly jump both feet out wide to the sides, similar to the leg movement in a jumping jack.

4. 4

   Immediately jump your feet back together to return to the starting high plank position, maintaining a controlled and rhythmic pace.

5. 5

   Continue alternating the feet-out and feet-in movements while focusing on a steady breath and preventing any hip rotation.

Tips

• Focus on maintaining a flat back and neutral spine throughout the entire movement, avoiding any arching or rounding.
• Control the landing of your feet; try to land softly on the balls of your feet to reduce impact and maintain stability.
• Initiate the leg movement from your hips and glutes, rather than just passively swinging your legs, to maximize muscle engagement.
• For increased challenge, quicken your pace slightly while ensuring your core remains fully engaged and stable.

Common Mistakes

• ×Sagging hips occurs when the core isn't fully engaged; fix this by actively pulling your belly button towards your spine and squeezing your glutes.
• ×Piking hips (lifting butt too high) indicates a lack of core stability; fix this by consciously lowering your hips to align with your shoulders and heels.
• ×Allowing hips to rotate side-to-side during the leg movement reduces core engagement; fix this by bracing your core intensely as if preparing for a punch, keeping your hips square.