Side Plank is an amazing way to sculpt your waist line and work your arms. I like to remind students that before you go and add extra weight to your workouts see if you can first effectively use your own body weight. You are your own weight bearing asana, and it’s my job to make sure you can effectively utilize what God gave you. This variation can be a great alternative to a full Plank version and less stress on the shoulder and wrist as you are closer to the floor and working less with a gravity pull.
- From a Table Top position (all fours), step one foot back at a time into a full Plank.
- Drop your forearms down to the floor and align the elbows under the shoulders (alignment about fist to elbow), keeping your spine long and the pelvis from dropping.
- Turn your right arm into your left elbow so the arms look like the letter “L”.
- Inhale turn the feet the same direction as the bottom arm and open your body to a side lying position.
- Keep your bottom hand aligning on the pinky side or for more core challenge turn the palm up (palm down allows the body to use more pecs and biceps).
- Bring awareness to the feet and stack the feet ankle on ankle and flex the feet (reaching through the top foot), stagger the feet (top foot forward of the bottom) but make sure you align the toe and heel with the shoulder so you don’t roll forward, or finally take the top foot to the floor in front of the bottom knee.
- Place your top hand on your hip and lengthen the entire body.
- Hold for a few breaths.
- Inhale, lower your hips down only as far as you can stay open and not curl the body forward.
- Exhale, and lift the hips up back to Side Plank (or slightly higher).
- Repeat this series 3-5 times on each side.
- Go back a second time and repeat the weaker side, incorporating the 2:1 ratio.
Check out the full move & a great variation!
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