Plank

Muscles worked by the Plank

Primary

AbsRectus AbdominisDeep CoreTransversus Abdominis

Secondary

Lower BackErector Spinae

Also called: abs, six-pack, rectus abdominis, abdominals, stomach muscles, transverse abdominis.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Plank

1. Place your forearms on the floor with elbows under your shoulders.
2. Extend your legs back and rise onto your toes.
3. Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
4. Brace your core and squeeze your glutes.
5. Hold the position for the desired duration.
6. Lower your knees to exit the hold.

Form tips

• Do not let your hips sag or pike up.
• Squeeze your glutes and quads.

At a glance

Plank in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• High Plank
• Side Plank
• Ab Wheel Rollout
• Bicycle Crunch
• Bird Dog Hold
• Cable Crunch
• Captain's Chair Knee Raise
• Captain's Chair Leg Raise

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "plank",
  "name_en": "Plank",
  "name_de": "Plank",
  "name_es": "Plancha",
  "description_en": "An isometric core exercise that strengthens the entire midsection.",
  "description_de": "Eine isometrische Rumpfübung, die die gesamte Körpermitte stärkt.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio isométrico de core que fortalece toda la zona media.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "core",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "rectus_abdominis",
    "transverse_abdominis"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "endurance",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "core",
    "calisthenics",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "plank",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Place your forearms on the floor with elbows under your shoulders.",
    "Extend your legs back and rise onto your toes.",
    "Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.",
    "Brace your core and squeeze your glutes.",
    "Hold the position for the desired duration.",
    "Lower your knees to exit the hold."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Lege die Unterarme auf den Boden, Ellenbogen unter den Schultern.",
    "Strecke die Beine nach hinten und stelle dich auf die Zehenspitzen.",
    "Halte den Körper in einer geraden Linie von Kopf bis Ferse.",
    "Spanne den Rumpf an und drücke die Gesäßmuskeln zusammen.",
    "Halte die Position für die gewünschte Dauer.",
    "Senke die Knie ab, um die Halteposition zu beenden."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Apoya los antebrazos en el suelo con los codos bajo los hombros.",
    "Extiende las piernas hacia atrás y apóyate sobre los dedos de los pies.",
    "Mantén el cuerpo en línea recta de la cabeza a los talones.",
    "Contrae el core y aprieta los glúteos.",
    "Mantén la posición durante el tiempo deseado.",
    "Baja las rodillas para salir de la posición."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Do not let your hips sag or pike up.",
    "Squeeze your glutes and quads."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Hüften weder durchhängen noch hochschieben.",
    "Gesäß- und Quadrizepsmuskeln anspannen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "No dejes que las caderas caigan ni se eleven.",
    "Aprieta los glúteos y los cuádriceps."
  ],
  "met": 3.5,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/plank-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "plank");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.