Plank Jack

Description

How to do Plank Jack

1. 01
   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. 02
   Setup

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

3. 03

   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. 04

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

5. 05

   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.