Plank
A core-holding exercise where you keep your body in a straight line supported on forearms and toes.
Overview
The plank is an isometric core exercise, meaning you hold a still position rather than move through repetitions. Supported on your forearms and toes, you keep your body in a straight line from head to heels while the core braces to stop the hips from sagging or lifting.
It needs no equipment and is a staple for building core endurance. The hold can be shortened or lengthened to match your level, and dropping to the knees offers an easier starting point.
The movement
- 1Set your forearms on the floor with elbows under your shoulders.
- 2Extend your legs back and rise onto your toes.
- 3Brace your core so your body forms a straight line.
- 4Hold the position for a set time, breathing steadily.
Beginner notes
- Dropping to the knees offers an easier starting version.
- The hips stay level, neither sagging down nor piking up.
- Timing the hold is a simple way to track progress.
A note on training information
Where it’s used
Sports this relates to:
Fitness
Strength and general fitness training — the foundation that supports every other sport.
Running
The most accessible endurance sport — no venue, just shoes and the open road or trail.
Functional Fitness
Varied, whole-body training built around everyday movement patterns like squatting, lifting and carrying.
Related exercises
Squat
A foundational lower-body movement where you bend at the hips and knees to lower down and stand back up.
Goblet squat
A squat variation where you hold a single weight close to your chest for balance and control.
Jump squat
An explosive squat variation where you spring off the floor at the top of the movement.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Plank to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Movement patterns
- GlideGlide is continuous, low-resistance locomotion in which the body holds a streamlined shape so that momentum generated by a preceding propulsive action carries it smoothly across a surface or through a medium.
- PivotA rotation of the body about one planted foot, reorienting the trunk and hips around a vertical axis without travelling to a new location.
- SlideA slide is a controlled, low-friction skid of the body or foot along a surface, used to brake, extend reach, or hold a line, where managed friction and a lowered centre of gravity govern the movement.
- SquatA knee-dominant pattern: bending the hips, knees and ankles to lower and rise while keeping the torso upright — the foundation of lower-body strength.
- CarryHolding and transporting a load while keeping the trunk braced and stable — an anti-movement pattern that builds grip, core stability and full-body strength.
Techniques
- PlankA static core exercise that holds the body in a straight line supported on the forearms and toes.
- Push-UpA bodyweight exercise that lowers and raises the body by bending and straightening the arms while holding a rigid plank line.
- Chest PassA two-handed pass thrown directly from chest height in a straight line to a teammate, the most basic pass in basketball and netball.
- Bodyweight SquatA foundational lower-body exercise that lowers the hips by bending the knees and hips, then stands back up, using only body weight.
- Padel BandejaA controlled overhead shot in padel, hit with slice and moderate pace to keep the player at the net without over-committing.
Skills
- Core stabilityThe skill of engaging the trunk muscles to keep the body strong and controlled through movement.
- BalanceThe skill of keeping the body stable and controlled while still or moving.
- DiggingThe volleyball skill of controlling a hard-driven ball low to keep it in play.
- BlockingThe skill of using the hands or body to stop or slow an opponent’s attack.
- PassingThe skill of moving the ball to a teammate accurately to keep possession and create chances.
Sports science
- Aerobic and anaerobic energyThe difference between energy the body produces with oxygen and energy it produces without it — a core idea behind why different efforts feel and last so differently.
- ProprioceptionThe body’s internal sense of where its parts are and how they are moving — the awareness behind balance and coordinated movement.
- Motor controlHow the brain and nervous system organise the muscles to produce coordinated, controlled movement.
- Energy systemsHow the body supplies energy for movement — the different pathways that power everything from an explosive jump to a long, steady run.
- Training variationThe idea that changing elements of training over time helps keep the body responding and keeps training sustainable.
Tactics
- Offside trapA defensive football tactic where the back line steps up together to leave an attacker offside.
- Serve and volleyAn attacking tennis tactic where the server follows their serve to the net to finish the point with a volley.
- Man-to-man markingA defensive tactic where each defender is assigned a specific opponent to track and contain.