Exercises You Should Be Doing: Prone Plank Push-Pull
There’s no debating the fact that planks (and all their infinite variations) have a place at the “big boy” table in terms of exercises which 1. offer a horde of benefits, and 2. are wildly popular in the fitness community.
Personally I have a love/hate relationship with them.
I love them because, well, it’s hard not to appreciate/respect the long-standing work of guys like Dr. Stuart McGill, Dr. Craig, Liebenson, and a slew of others who are way smarter than me who have routinely shown that building and improving upon spinal endurance is a key factor in addressing low-back pain.
Having the ability to buttress shear loads and maintain a “neutral” spine both from an anterior/posterior perspective (prone planks) as well as laterally (side planks) goes a long ways in demonstrating one’s ability to control the lumbo-pelvic-hip area.
While I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me, Dr. McGill has noted that one should be able to hold a perfect prone plank position for roughly 90-120s, and a side plank for roughly 60s (on both sides).
If one is unable to do so, compensates in any way, or there is a major asymmetry between left and right sides on the side plank, it’s cause for a red flag and more than likely will result in a dolphin gets punched in the face.
In short, planks (or to be more precise: the ability to perform them correctly) can be a valuable assessment tool.
Which brings me to why I also hate them.
Walk into any gym, anywhere, at any time, and you’ll undoubtedly see people planking away. And, more often than not they look god awful.
There’s this….
And this….
And this, which is actually kinda cool….
Worse is that some people will brag – like it’s a badge of honor – that they can “plank” for five minutes. Well la-de-freakin-do. Unless you’re training for some World Planking Championship, who cares????
And that’s not even the worse offense. I’ll give a free pass to the general fitness population because they don’t know any better. But what really grinds my gears is when I see personal trainers having their clients perform planks for minutes on end, and it looks like the first two pictures from above.
What purpose does that serve? And more to the point: how is it you’re letting your client get away with such atrocious technique???????
AHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Okay, deep breaths Tony. Everything will be okay.
Just so we’re on the same page: I am NOT saying that planks are a waste of time. Like I said there’s definitely a ton of efficacy for their inclusion in a well-designed training program. But I’m also in the camp that believes there’s a rate of diminishing returns after a certain point.
If you’re working with a banged up client with a history of low back pain that’s one thing; but if you’re working with a “healthy” client with no contraindications or symptoms then I’d rather make planks more challenging rather than go for longer periods of time.
Which brings us to today’s exercise you should be doing.
Prone Plank Push-Pull
Who Did I Steal It From: fellow strength coach and Cortland State alum, Justin Kompf.
What Does It Do: it definitely brings a new flavor into the mix on two fronts.
1. By taking one arm off the floor, you’re taking away a base of support which inherently makes the exercise more challenging.
2. It also adds a dynamic component where the trainee has to RESIST me with the push component, and then pull AGAINST my resistance with the pulling part.
All this while still maintaining a “neutral” spine and not allowing the torso to compensate in any way.
Key Coaching Cues: All the same rules apply, and this means making sure your technique is spot on. Meaning, there should be absolutely no compensating in the lumbar region (dipping or hiking), no forward head posture, and the glutes should be firing along with a significant abdominal brace throughout the duration of the set.
Additionally, I like to yell out the cues during the set: Push!, Pull!, Push!, Pull!, your sister’s hot!, Push!, Pull!, Push!, Pull!, so on and so forth.
Shoot for 6-8 reps on one side, switch, and repeat the same process on the other.
And that’s about it. Give it a try today and let me know what you think!
Comments for This Entry
Sean
Awesome stuff Tony!April 18, 2013 at 11:14 am |
TonyGentilcore
Thanks Sean. If you give it a go, let me know what you think of it!April 19, 2013 at 7:38 am |
Adam Feinstein
Renegade rows a good substitution if you don't have a partner? Seems to be to be about the same...I see similar faults in people that do them at the gym, turning their hips like they are trying to hit a golf ball.April 18, 2013 at 6:54 pm |
TonyGentilcore
Not quite. Remember, with this version, the trainee is pushing and pulling against manual resistance so I feel that adds a component that's unique compared to renegade rows. You "could" use a band possibly and try to jimmy rig that.April 19, 2013 at 7:40 am |
Jen
Grinds my gears.... gotta love Family Guy. On a serious note, good read. Am looking forward to trying this one.April 18, 2013 at 7:51 pm |
TonyGentilcore
HA - glad someone got the reference.....;o)April 19, 2013 at 7:40 am |
Jake Johnson
I really like the low cable row variation of the plank, but this one adds the extra "push" element. Will definitely give it a try. JakeApril 18, 2013 at 9:48 pm |
TonyGentilcore
Glad you dug it Jake. Definitely give it a try and let me know what you think.April 19, 2013 at 7:42 am |
TonyGentilcore
Well shit......I never thought of that. Good call!April 19, 2013 at 7:42 am |
Michael Zweifel
Plus this variation allows you to give a sweet bro handshake throughout it's entire duration!April 19, 2013 at 1:42 am |
Luke Retterath
Reminds me of a video I saw where guys were doing a similar move (sans the push) with a sled. If you have a rope and a sled, you can get into the same prone plank position and use one arm to pull it towards you.April 19, 2013 at 11:58 am |
Lørdags links #11 - Haacker
[...] Tony viser her en god variant af planken. Jeg forestiller mig den også kan laves af to mennesker over for hinanden i planken, så begge træner bevægelsen. Personligt bruger jeg meget planke med albuerne på en swiss ball (ja jeg ved det lyder meget hippie pilates agtigt, men prøv den bare en gang!), armstræninger med vægt på ryggen (ja en armstrækning er bare en planke hvor du bøjer og trækker armene) og renegade rows. Jeg skal helt sikkert teste Tony’s variant. [...]April 20, 2013 at 1:08 am |
Vilen V.
A rubber band is also awesome for this exercise if you train alone and don't want to use cable machines. Nevertheless a great exercise to throw into the mix.April 20, 2013 at 4:25 am |
Steve
Rather than jury-rig something with bands or whatever, couldn't you just lay a kettlebell on it's side and push/pull with the handle? Should work fine on "carpeted" type surfaces or placed on a towel for hard, smooth ones.April 20, 2013 at 6:13 pm |
Tassie
I was just going to ask if someone training solo could just push/pull a plate on the ground but your kettle bell idea is genius.April 21, 2013 at 10:50 am |
TonyGentilcore
That's a pretty cool idea Steve! Thanks for the suggestion.April 22, 2013 at 11:21 am |
Steve
I recently started working with a female collegiate volleyball player with extension based back pain. She said her coach makes them do 5 minute planks after each practice....no wonder she ended up with pain!May 2, 2013 at 4:20 pm |
TonyGentilcore
OUCH!!! Well, that makes about as much sense as poop flavored lolly pop.May 3, 2013 at 8:11 am |
Programming — 11/07/2013 | Hudson River CrossFit
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