If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – in my opinion, the plank is THE best abdominal exercise. Our abdominal muscles aren’t just for show. The core impacts so much in our training and our everyday lives. Just as a home needs a solid foundation, our body needs a solid core. And we must start on the inside.
The core is divided into a stabilization and a movement system. We can easily believe that jumping into 500 crunches daily will give us a tightened stomach. Sure, crunches will strengthen the movement system of our abdominal muscles…but it won’t get you very far without a strong base. Having a strong stabilization system helps us to use our strength and power in other parts of the body more efficiently and effectively. It also prevents injury, improves posture, and draws the muscles in for a tighter look. Who doesn’t want that?
What is one way to challenge those inner core stabilization muscles? You guessed it! Planks! And luckily for all of us, a wide variety of planks exist to keep our bodies guessing – which keeps us challenged and motivated. Below, I have put together a few short videos that showcase some of my favorite plank variations. Enjoy!
Elbow Plank Variations
including:
- elbow plank on knees (beginner plank)
- elbow plank
- hip dips in plank position
- rocking plank
- plank jacks
- up/down plank
Straight Arm Plank Variations
including:
- straight arm plank
- straight arm plank with leg lift
- walking plank
- spiderman plank
- plank twist into side plank
Side Plank Variations
including:
- side plank on knees (beginner)
- side plank
- side plank with hip dips
- side plank with oblique crunch
- side plank with oblique twist
- side plank with leg lift
Some other plank options include:
- reverse planks
- reverse planks with leg lifts
- plank with elbows on stability ball (move arms in small circles for added stability challenge!)
- plank with toes on stability ball
- plank with one arm dumbbell rows
Put a few together for a challenging core workout. Start building a solid foundation, flattening that stomach, and strengthening your body’s movement all in a few minutes.
Do you like planks? Which variation is your favorite? What’s the longest you’ve held a plank?
Welcome to Best Body Fitness! I'm Tina - a wife, mother, runner, lover of sweets, recovered binge eater, woman of faith, and fitness aficionado. I believe a strong, healthy, and fit body is the best body we can hope to have. Let's reach ours together! 
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we did side planks with hip dips in my circuit class Tuesday night and I am feeling it this morning! I love all the elbow plank variations, I’ll have to pass that on to some friends at the gym with weak wrists.
Love planks! My secret to holding them longer is to play around on twitter or instagram. Time flies when you’re not staring at the clock!
love planks…
i used to be able to do it for 7+ mins
then injury, hadnt worked out or done anything in months
now i’m sadly down to barely 3 mins
3 mins is still mighty impressive to me!
Pinned!!! I love planks but I barely ever do them. It’s a sad story. I should start making myself do a few minutes every day!
I love planks! I don’t know what’s the longest I’ve held one, but I know I need to start doing them to get my pre pregnancy belly back. Great post!
Wow that could lead to a seriously intense work out! What a great way to mix up a simple plank. It is a great workout, but let’s be honest, you can only hold a standard plank for so long or only want to do so many before you get bored. This gives variety, which I love!
These are great variations! I am always looking for ab movements that will actually make my abs sore – hopefully some of these will fit the bill.
i love planks (although i’m sure i won’t be saying that once i start doing them again post-baby)!
Great ideas!
I also love plank exercises and incorporate them into my workouts many times during the week, as well as in the classes I teach. I definitely think a strong core is essential!
I love the traditional elbow plank hold as well as the straight arm plank with leg lifts.
I like planks now, I used to hate them! Great post, I will definetly be trying some of these
I totally agree that planks the the best thing you can do for a flat belly. My favorite lately are plank jacks and the plank with a dumbbell row. Great post!!!
I’m love-to-hate-to love plank girl myself. They are SO SO SO effective but damn are they hard to do well. But then, that’s the point, right? The thing about planks that keeps me motivated is that you can always improve – your form, your endurance, your strength. And there is nothing better than the first time you realize you’re strong enough to stay in a certain plank pose for longer than you did previously (or beating your husband in a plank war is also fun too, hehe)
hahaha! Love the beating the husband comment.
great variations!
LOVE this post! I’m totally going to incorporate more variations into my workout
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I love planks! They are my favorite core exercise. I like the side plank with dips, but the traditional plank does soooo much for your whole core too! I loved reading all the variations!
Love this post! I love planks, make you feel so strong! I will def be adding these variations into my workouts.
Another really great variation I have been doing lately is to do a plank on your elbows on a ball, even harder if you have a partner to (lightly) kick the ball while you are doing the plank b/c then you have to stabilize the ball movement with your core! I also do “swiss killahs” – or start with fists low on the ball, and roll out to your elbows, while doing a plank.. You can start by doing the plank on your knees and build up to doing in on your feet, this is a hard move!
That does sound tough! Thanks for sharing.
I have a love/hate relationship with planks…I love them because I know they are super effective, but I hate them because let’s be honest, they sort of suck
I have about every Jillian Michaels dvd under the sun, so over the course of a week of using all her different workouts I have certainly planked my little heart out!
WOW! this is really great! Thanks for so much detail. I am excited to try some of these with my Insanity workouts!
I love planks! People in my classes always grumble when I make them do them, but I just tell that they are good for you and that they’ll thank me later!
i have such a bittersweet love for planks! haha. i know and completely agree that planks are one of the BEST core exercises, and that’s why i love them, but i also hate how hard they can be sometimes.
Thanks for this Tina. I’m trying to incorporate more plyometrics and strength-building exercises into my routine, and I really should do more planks. Didn’t know there were so many variations!
I LOVE PLANKS!!! Plank with hip dips, up/down plank with pulses (insanity style), and side plank dips are my favorites!!!
I used to not like planks so much, but as I’ve started to incorporate them more and more into my workouts, I find my attitude towards them changing. They may be hard, but I can feel results! I’ll definitely be trying to incorporate some of these variations into my core exercises
We were just talking about how valuable planks are in my boot camp class this morning! The longest I’ve held a plank is 90 seconds – but I’m working on it1
Great post Tina. I LOVE planks too! I agree with you – they are super amazing for your abs… I am up to a 2.30 min plank! That has taken months though to get me there!
xoxo from Trinidad
LOVE planks.
My fitness class staples are pushups, burpees, and planks
I love up/down planks like in your first set! Check out your triceps in that vid PS
I’ve been pronouncing your last name wrong. Now I feel silly.
I have never actually tried to see how long I can hold a plank, but should! I always do straight arm planks in yoga, and elbow in Bodypump (and side planks and variations for both).
I have to say- I LOVE side planks- probably because I can hold them for longer.
I don’t know if I ever shared this with you, but my trainer has a really cook 10-min plank challenge on YouTube. He’s made me do it several times and it’s a killer!!
I can’t link to the direct YouTube address because it’s blocked at my work, but there’s a link to it in this post: http://oatmealafterspinning.com/2011/10/12/planks-tea-and-other-randoms/
Love planks! I’m excited to add some of the variations you’ve shared to my workouts. Those side planks with hip dips get me for sure…hurts so good!
Planks are by far my favorite abdominal exercise as well! My abdominal diastasis was worse with my second child and planks are a great way to help that!
I love planks. I try to do them as often as possible because I know how great they are, and because I can just bust one out pretty much anywhere.
The longest I’ve held one is probably about a minute. I just don’t have the attention span for more than that.
love them all! my abs might not love you tomorrow but its for their own good, right?
My core is STILL sore from the Body Saw plank variation I did on Monday night for Tuesday Trainer – it’s crazy how effective & how many ways you can tweak a plank . I think I’ve probably only done 1 minute sets of plank, I’m always so impressed when I hear how long other people work up to!
Planks!! They are so hard but I know I need to do them. Thanks for all the variations!
You know – It is so nice to see these 3 videos with SO many variety in terms of how to do planks. I hate planks, but I love them SO much at the same time. I always try to do Planks of some sort when I’m home with the family during commercial breaks if we are watching television – but after watchign these videos, I now have more variations which is fantastic!
Great! Glad to help. And doing them during commercial breaks is a great idea. I love sneaking them in when playing on the floor with the kiddos.
I love planks! SO true–they are great for stability!!
You have such great posts
I love this, Tina. Thank you. I did a set of each exercise above, for 45 seconds to a 1 minute per exercise, after my spinning class this morning. It rocked my core. I think this’ll be an integral part of my routine now.
I was able to go into a quiet studio, with my Garmin timer, and do the exercises alongside a mirror. This helped me with my form, and in focusing on engaging my transverse abs. Crunches/sit-ups/etc. can’t compare to planks — I agree.
I love doing planks! My favorite is a side plank and then you dip your hip down and pull it back up. I’ll have to check out some of these moves, there are so many!
I working my abs, but I try to do a few planks a week (until failure). It’s the one muscle group, I loathe working.
Plank is so hard. I find it really difficult when you’re not moving to hold it? I like to be moving during my ab exercises. But I do know how beneficial planks are and I try to do them as much as I can
All the variations are brilliant. Thanks for taking the time to explain them and show us! I agree the plank is the best ab workout for all around strength and fitness.
I had no idea there were so many ways to do a plank, thank you Tina.
love this Tina!! thank you! we have been doing planks everyday for the past two weeks. we will try out some of these variations!
I had no idea planks were the best for your abs?!! Really? I’m not trying to be annoying or doubtful, I’m just surprised!
Not annoying or doubtful sounding at all. I view the plank as the best because its a move that can work the entire abdominal region, as well as other parts of the body. Plus, it’s a functional exercise that will benefit everyday strength.
Tina, you posted this at just the right time for me. With my foot still recovering from the bite, I’m not running right now. I’m really bummed, because it’s the one thing that’s really helped me in the abdominal area…and not running centers my focus on how not-so-strong my abs are. I’ve got this bookmarked…and I’ll be incorporating more planks on a daily basis, for sure. They’re my favorite.
Would you please consider making a one-page poster of these? Just 1-2 photos of each to jog our memory, something to tape on the wall. Regardless, thanks for every bit of this page!
Thank you for sharing these exercises! I am looking for something to strengthen and tone and I think these will be perfect for me! Abs are my focus and the variations are great! Thank you!
How long should I do each plank variation for?
I always suggest holding a plank as long as possible with good form and gradually building up the time. For moves like the hip dips or rocks, I would say start with 10 reps and build up to 15 or 20. Always focus on quality form first, though.
i can’t wait to try these when I get home. I have to be queit and quick when exercising. At least till the weather is better so that I can walk again! thanks for this. i hope i can remember how to do it all when I get home.
Hope you enjoy them!
Thanks for this post, Tina! I’m wondering: How many times per week should I do planks? Any suggestions for frequency?
No problem!
I try to actually do the standard plank once a day since it’s such a great functional exercise. Doesn’t always happen though.
Any moves that go beyond the standard plank and use other body parts (like the ones with hip dips/raises, up/down plank, etc) I incorporate into my strength workouts, so no more than 2-3 times per week. Hope this helps!
Thanks so much for these exercises—we did some tonight and my tummy is feeling it!!! Thanks again–awesome!!
Glad you enjoyed them!
Was in a fit test yesterday and I was able to hold a plank for 8:28 but my competitor (a guy) lol who didnt want me to win, made it to 9 mins. Today, my body is aching but Im very proud of myself
I agree with you, Tina; nothing shapes up your core and makes it stronger than planks. I never did them prior to working out with a trainer, thinking that lots of sit-ups was the key, but never getting great results. Yes, they’re challenging, but they’ve made all the difference in the world. Planks have turned my core into a sort of natural girdle. Buh-bye, Spanx!
great sight, straight and to the point with short clips is perfect and simple enough to watch quickly so you can get on with it… thank you! best site I’ve found on these sort of abd exercises (i’m looking only for plank exercises bc they’re the best for post baby bellies
I am new to this …..when doing the beginning planks are you to lift? and how long or how many? Thanks for your time.
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