Hand Plank

What you'll gain

• Builds full-core endurance and anti-extension strength.

• Stabilizes the shoulders for pressing and overhead work.

• Reinforces full-body bracing under your own bodyweight.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Start on all fours with your hands flat on the floor directly under your shoulders.

2. 2

   Step both feet back one at a time until your legs are straight and your body is in a long line.

3. 3

   Press the floor away to spread your shoulder blades and keep a slight rounding through the upper back.

4. 4

   Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs to stop your hips from sagging or piking up.

5. 5

   Hold the position with steady breathing, eyes looking down between your hands to keep a neutral neck.

6. 6

   Lower your knees back to the floor with control after the target time and rest before the next set.

Common Mistakes

• Letting the hips sag toward the floor, which loads the lower back instead of the abs.

• Piking the hips up high, which turns the plank into a partial downward dog and removes the core challenge.

• Letting the head drop or crane forward, which strains the neck and breaks the body's straight line.

• Locking the elbows and sinking into the shoulders instead of pressing the floor away.

About This Exercise

The hand plank is the most common isometric core hold in fitness. Held on straight arms with the body forming a long line from heels to head, it trains the abs to resist sagging while the shoulders and serratus stabilize the upper body. It's deceptively simple, which is exactly why it shows up in nearly every program. For app and course content, this clip is a must-have inventory piece. It belongs in beginner onboarding, warmup flows, core circuits, and HIIT modules. It's also a key teaching frame — the hand plank position is the start of push-ups, mountain climbers, and burpees, so the same clip can support a full library of bodyweight progressions. A small asset with outsized utility.

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