Most guys and gals seem to be able to stress all the ligaments in their body for hours in the plank. Sagging at the hip and checking the phone app every 5 seconds, hoping for a reprieve! Now Coach Craig posted a great intro into the hardstyle plank on our Facebook page. Much more like it! It’s all about creating tension ladies and gentleman. Tension and rigidity when we need it.
I will see hundreds of people exercise every day, but still, rarely do I see a side plank being performed correctly by most. There seems to be an across the board weakness when it comes to the lateral core in the general public, and most probably this is also true for your clients.
So why’s the Lateral Core so important?
Well, it spans between the two most mobile joints in the body – the hips and the shoulder complex. And when it’s weak, you guessed it, they can become unstable and more inhibited. It’s the hip mobility that seems to be more drastically affected by this. The hip joint should be mobile. It’s an open ball and socket joint. It should see a very large range of motion in comparison to a hinge joint, like the elbow or the knee.
In the words of Dean Somerset, who I look to in reference to all things hip, ‘we should all be able to do the splits’. He goes on to explain that we should be able to make like ‘Van Damme’ if it wasn’t for soft tissue providing tension for the lack of stability in another area of the body.
Instability in a nearby joint (for example the SI join in the spine) can cause tension in the muscles. They are acting this way to protect. With less mobility in the hips, they are stopping the body going through a range of motion that might further the problem/increase the pain. Often times the cause of this unstable joint is a weak core, so it’s a vicious circle.
If you are always stretching tight muscles, yet your always back at square one the next day, then there is probably a problem with stability in a joint or an injury or a weakness causing an imbalance. Muscles don’t get super tight without command (they’re kinda simple!) The central nervous system is calling the shots.
So how does the Side Plank help?
The Side Plank strengthens muscles in the lateral core, the Transverse Abdominis (TVA), all of the glutes, hip adductors and the obliques. Strengthening and activating the Trunk in this position helps to increase internal hip rotation. Where the regular plank seems to have a positive effect on external hip rotation.
It’s so effective that if you test your clients passive internal hip rotation and its, let’s say, 30 degrees or less. Then ask them to perform a side plank getting them to adopt a super-rigid position. After 10-20 seconds in side plank, re-test the internal hip rotation, and 9/10 times it has improved! The exercise is forcing all the mentioned muscles, as well as the serratus anterior and the latissimus dorsi/lower body muscle structure, to fire and stabilize the spine. Putting it in a position so that it doesn’t need to compensate by limiting your range of motion.
This, in turn, helps re-set the way the hip moves. Giving you, in most cases, an immediate increase in mobility. So for people with a deficit in their internal hip rotation you now have a powerful tool in the box. This is massive in the Personal Training and Coaching world. You want your clients to run, hinge, lunge and squat pain-free with their own range of motion optimized.
How to Set Up the Side Plank
- Lay on your side propped up on your elbow.
- Place the elbow directly below the shoulder – this has to be comfy. Depress your scapula (put your shoulder in your back pocket) so it’s packed and not susceptible to injury.
- The other arm can be alongside your body, or on the floor as an aide to your balance if its a case of trying this for the first time.
- With your legs straight place the top foot in front of the body and the foot underneath, behind your body, your legs should look scissored from above.
- While maintaining the natural curve of your spine (not twisted throughout) squeeze your glutes and brace your midsection ( ribs down and tense).
- Raise your hips up from the floor while maintaining full body tension, but don’t forget to breathe. ( preferably in and out through your nostrils, using your diaphragm to assist)
- Hold the isometric for 8-10 seconds, before taking a rest for the same length of time and then repeating.
Start with 3 x 10 seconds per side.
How to Progress/Regress the Side Plank
When it gets easy, you can progress the movement by raising the non-loaded arm up into the air/perform the movement for a longer period of time/or our favourite the ‘hardstyle’ or RKC plank variation.
When doing the Hardstyle variety, imagine pulling the elbow towards the heel and the heel towards the elbow, contracting all of your muscles, creating massive tension.
You can do these isometric whole body contractions on and off, keeping the position solid while not generating maximum tension. And then you can repeat these pulses for bouts of 5-7 seconds at a time.
To make it easier and regress the movement, start with the half side plank – without the lower leg extended. As the knees are bent at 90 degrees and the client will use the glutes to fire into extension as well as still creating lateral and anterior core tension (even if it to a lesser degree).
The Side Plank, for me, is part of my daily ritual. The McGill Curl-Up and the Bird-Dog complete the McGill’s Big 3. If you have ever hurt your back and have not integrated these into your daily practice then start today. I’ll cover the Curl-Up and Bird-Dog soon.
Start side planking and move better… In the words of Paul Chek, movement is life, and life is movement!
Stay strong,
Coach Fletch.
Author - Fletcher Dalrymple - Personal Trainer & Mentor
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