Exercise technique guide
How to Do a Side Plank
The side plank has you hold your body sideways on one forearm, stacking your feet and lifting your hips. It targets the obliques and deep side-core muscles that stabilise your spine and hips, an area the standard plank misses. Great for balanced core strength.
The regular plank trains the front of your core, but your sides need work too. The side plank targets the obliques and the deep muscles that stop your torso from collapsing sideways, which matters for a stable spine and healthy hips.
You just need a bit of floor, so it works at home or our Putra Heights centre. It also quietly reveals left-right differences, since one side is almost always weaker than the other at first.
What it trains and who it suits
It targets the obliques and deep side-core, plus the hip stabilisers. It suits anyone building balanced core strength, and those wanting better spine and hip stability for lifting or running.
Because it is a hold, it is low-risk and simple to scale, and it exposes side-to-side weakness you can then even out.
Step-by-step cues
- Lie on your side with your forearm under your shoulder
- Stack your feet or stagger them for more balance
- Lift your hips so your body is a straight line
- Squeeze your side and glutes to hold position
- Hold and breathe, then switch to the other side
Common mistakes and quick fixes
- Hips sagging toward the floor, lift them into a straight line
- Rolling forward or back, stack your shoulders and hips
- Elbow too far forward, set it directly under the shoulder
- Holding the breath, breathe steadily throughout the hold
Regressions, progressions and when to stop
Too hard? Bend your knees and hold from there. Too easy? Hold longer, stack your feet, or lift the top leg. At home the floor is enough; at our centre we add reaches and hip dips for progression.
- Stop if you feel sharp shoulder or low-back pain rather than side-core effort
- See a professional if your shoulder cannot bear weight without pain