Side Plank - Best for your Obliques? by Stuart Calnan, Wimbledon Osteopath
Side Plank
A side plank is a static hold, 'isometric', exercise targeting the oblique muscles.
You can raise and lower your hips towards the ground to add some movement to the exercise.
However, there are two drawbacks to the side plank:
- Around one third of your bodyweight is loaded onto your shoulder joint through the supporting arm. This inward pressure may irritate an older, arthritic, or previously injured shoulder joint.
- Additionally, there is a reasonable amount of sideways force placed on the lower knee, in a direction that the knee is not designed to bend.
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How can we improve this abdominal exercise?
My preference would be for a more dynamic and functional exercise for the obliques, such as torso rotation.
A TheraBand attached to something solid (at around nipple height ideally) can be used to provide resistance.
Then simply rotate horizontally away from the TheraBand anchor, as you would if playing a tennis shot or swinging a baseball bat.
Move slowly and deliberately.
Try to stay in the middle 80% of the range of rotation.
You can also do this oblique twist with a cable stack in the gym.
The strength to the abdominal muscles and obliques gained from this more functional movement is easier to apply to activities with similar movements, such as golf, tennis and boxing.