Side plank
3 holds of 30 s per side, 30 s rest. Hips high, body in one line.
- Slot
- Strength
- Focus
- Stability
- Time
- 5 min
- Intensity
- Low intensity
- Injury risk
- Low injury risk
- Equipment
- Floor space, Timer
How to do it
Lie on one side, forearm on the floor under your shoulder. Lift your hips so your body is a straight line from head to feet, and hold. Switch sides. Do 30 seconds per side, 3 rounds, with 30 seconds rest. Bend your bottom knee to make it easier.
Run it now
The same timer as the app: a five-second get-ready, then every round and rest counted down with a beep. Keep this page open while you train.
Side plank
0:00 / 4:20
Ready
4:20
3 rounds
3 holds of 30 s per side, 30 s rest. Hips high, body in one line.
High risk: read the protocol, stop if anything feels wrong.
- 3
- rounds
- 30s
- work per side
- 5s
- switch
- 30s
- rest
- 4:20
- total
Done.
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Take the quizWho it's for
Climbers whose hips drop away from the wall, and anyone who flags a lot on one side and not the other. It trains the side of the trunk, which the front plank leaves out and which is what keeps you sideways on a wall. Low intensity and 5 minutes, so it fits in most sessions, and the easier bent-knee version means there's no level too early for it.
Common mistakes
- Low hips. Lift until head, hips and feet make one line, and hold that. A sinking side plank is mostly a rest.
- Rolling forwards. Chest stays open, shoulders stacked. Rotating in turns it into a front plank done awkwardly.
- Only training the good side well. Both sides get 30 seconds, and the weaker one sets the standard. This is the exercise where a left and right difference is most obvious, so use it.
- Skipping the easier version and holding a bad shape. Bend the bottom knee. A clean 30 seconds on a knee beats a broken 30 seconds on the feet.
How to progress
Three rounds of 30 seconds per side with 30 seconds rest, both sides equal, before you change anything. Then go to the straight-leg version if you were on a knee, and after that lift the top leg or the top arm. Two or three times a week, and it's an easy one to leave in during a deload week.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.
Endurance Climb longer before you pump out, by moving efficiently.
Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.
Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.