Elevated-Feet Plank

Plank exercises are stabilizing exercises. Holding a plank position requires the muscles in the lower back, abdomen, glutes, and legs (especially the hamstrings) to work to keep the back and legs aligned.

Placing the feet higher allows a completely horizontal position to be achieved. This makes the exercise slightly more challenging than the regular Front Plank, in which more weight is supported by the legs.

Elevated Feet Plank

Muscles involved:

Erector spinae
Hamstrings
Abdominals
Glutes
Pectoralis major (major chest muscle)
Anterior deltoid (front fibers of the shoulder muscle)
Triceps brachii
Biceps brachii
Serratus anterior
Rotator cuff (stabilizing shoulder muscles, supraspinatus, subscapularis, teres major, teres minor)
Serratus
Latissimus dorsi
Trapezius

Elevated Feet Plank execution

Find an elevation for your feet (approximately as high as the length of your upper arms). Get on your hands and knees and place your feet one at a time, with your toes on the elevation. Place your forearms with clenched fists on the floor at shoulder width. Now push your hips upward until your legs and back are aligned with the natural curvature of your back. Do not excessively arch or round your back.

Elevated Feet Plank technique

In gyms, people usually perform dynamic exercises for the abdominal muscles. However, the abdominal muscles (and other core muscles) are not engaged in large movements for most of the day. They are almost continuously engaged in stabilizing the torso. Plank exercises therefore strengthen this practical function. This makes them not only highly suitable for active athletes and injury prevention, but also for preventing back complaints in less active people.