The reverse plank is a fantastic variation that offers a new challenge to your workout routine. While most of us focus on exercises that target the front of our bodies, the reverse plank flips that perspective, helping you strengthen the back. It’s excellent for opening up the chest and working the often-neglected muscles. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through adequately performing this exercise and show you which muscles are activated during the move. Plus, I’ve got a video tutorial to make it even easier for you to follow!
How To Do A Reverse Plank
The reverse plank is a great move to strengthen your core, glutes, and shoulders. It’s an excellent exercise to improve posture and overall body strength. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it properly:
1. Start Position
- Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out straight before you.
- Place your hands on the floor behind you, about shoulder-width apart. Your fingers should point toward your feet.
- Ensure your wrists are directly under your shoulders for proper support.
2. Engage Your Core
- Before you move, tighten your core muscles. Think of pulling your belly button toward your spine.
- Keep your legs extended and your toes pointed forward.
3. Lift Your Hips
- Push through your hands and lift your hips off the floor. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your heels.
- Avoid letting your lower back sag, as this can stress your spine unnecessarily. Instead, engage your glutes and legs to keep your hips up.
4. Hold the Position
- Keep your head aligned with your spine and look straight ahead.
- Focus on maintaining a strong, straight line from your shoulders to your feet. Hold for as long as you can, aiming for 20-30 seconds to start.
5. Lower Back Down
- To finish, gently lower your hips back to the floor and rest briefly before repeating.
Tips:
- If you’re a beginner, start with your feet bent or slightly closer to your body, making the exercise easier.
- Make sure to breathe! It can be easy to hold your breath, but breathing is essential to maintain control.
Reverse Plank Muscles Worked
If you have difficulty raising your hips, your buttocks may never leave the floor.
There are two things you could do:
- Improve shoulder mobility (the photo above depicts the reverse table stretch).
- Put your hands on some plates behind you to raise your upper body.
Isometric holds are excellent for building strength, and that is precisely what we are attempting to do with the reverse plank hold or any plank variant.
Reverse Plank Variations
Reverse Plank (Elbow)
You understood how difficult the reverse plank hold was for the hands.
It requires you to open up your chest and compress your glutes.
If you drop to your elbows, you must work hard to push your shoulders together and drive through your hips!
Chinese Plank
The Chinese plank is an excellent introductory core exercise for developing strong glutes and isometric holds.
Unlike the reverse plank, this exercise provides the desired glute activation while requiring no shoulder mobility.
- Increase the duration first (30 seconds, 45 seconds, 1 minute, and so on).
- Then, add weight and repeat the process with weight on your chest (30 seconds, 45 seconds, etc.).
Weighted Plank
Although that is not a weighted plank, you can see that all of my muscles are active in that position.
I demonstrate that posture because if you can’t get into a good hollow body, you won’t feel the muscles engage when you do a plank, with or without weight.
Conclusion
I provided some takeaways on maximizing your efforts and why you should practice the good old reverse plank more frequently in your exercises.
- If you cannot get into position, I have given you two options: stretch or lift your hands.
- I gave you three of my favorite plank variants (reverse from elbows, Chinese, and weighted).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the reverse plank good for?
The reverse plank is an excellent variation of planks since it strengthens and activates your glutes. You will also feel a great stretch in your shoulders. Hold your shoulders back and clench your glutes!
Is a reverse plank better than a standard plank?
The reason for performing a “normal” plank and a reverse plank is to maintain adequate muscular balance. Consider it like any other muscle. If you work your biceps, you should work your triceps. If you push, you will want to pull. The reverse plank should be included in your core practice to prevent muscle imbalances and to wake up your glutes!!
Are reverse planks more challenging?
They are challenging to perform because they need a high level of shoulder mobility. If you have limited shoulder mobility, moving your shoulders back to open up your chest and drive your hips up to clench your glutes is tough!
Are reverse planks safe?
Yes. The most challenging task will be if your chest is extremely tight and you have trouble rolling your shoulders back to raise your hips high enough to squeeze your glutes.
