Push-Up to Side Plank
Trains the Pecs.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set up in a push-up position with your hands under the shoulders and the body in a straight line.
- Lower the chest to the floor and press back up as for an ordinary push-up.
- At the top, shift your weight onto one hand and rotate the body to that side, lifting the other arm up towards the ceiling.
- Stack the feet or stagger them, and hold the side plank for a moment with the hips high and the body in one line.
- Rotate back down, place the hand on the floor and do another push-up.
- Rotate to the other side after this one, and keep alternating.
Common mistakes
- Letting the hips drop in the side plank. The body is a straight line from head to feet on its side; a sagging hip means the trunk has stopped holding.
- Rotating before the push-up is finished. The arms lock out first, then the body turns; rotating half way up leaves one arm doing a lopsided press.
- Rushing the plank. The pause on the side is the second half of the movement, not a transition; it is held long enough to feel the trunk working.
- Looking down at the floor while on the side. The head follows the raised arm; looking down curls the neck and rolls the shoulders forward.