How to Do a Side Plank
A side plank is a core exercise where you hold your body in a straight line on one forearm and the side of one foot. Keep your elbow under your shoulder and your hips lifted. It trains the obliques and glute med on the bottom side. Most people do 2 to 3 holds of 15 to 45 seconds per side.
How to do a side plank
- Lie on your side with your legs straight and your feet stacked. Put your forearm on the floor with your elbow directly under your shoulder.
- Brace your abs all the way around your waist, as if someone is about to poke you in the side, and squeeze your glutes.
- Push the floor away with your forearm and lift your hips until your head, hips and feet form one straight line.
- Keep your hips stacked and your chest facing forward, not rolled toward the floor. Rest your top hand on your hip or reach it to the ceiling.
- Breathe in short, steady breaths and hold. End the set when your hips start to drop, then switch sides and match the time.
Side plank levels, easiest to hardest
Once a clean 45 seconds per side is easy, make the side plank harder instead of longer. A longer hold keeps the same effort for more time, and a harder version raises it. Spine researcher Stuart McGill trains the side bridge as repeated holds of 7 to 8 seconds on each side, adding holds rather than seconds as endurance improves.
Muscles worked
Side plank claims the research does not back
Four claims that side plank guides repeat:
- Side planks get rid of love handles. Six weeks of ab exercise, 5 days a week, did not reduce belly fat, waist size or the skinfold above the hip (Vispute 2011). Love handles are fat, and they shrink with lower body fat.
- Side planks fix scoliosis. The claim comes from a case series of 25 patients with no control group, whose curves shrank by 32% on average after months of daily side planks (Fishman 2014). In a randomized trial of 64 teenagers, 6 months of side planks did not change curve size (Sarkisova 2019). The first author argues that trial had almost no lower-back curves in its side plank group, the type the pose is meant for (Fishman 2021). Treat it as unproven.
- Draw your belly button in toward your spine. In a lab model, a full brace made the spine 32% more stable, and hollowing added nothing mechanical (Grenier and McGill 2007). Brace all the way around your waist instead.
- The longer the hold, the better. The standard side plank already reaches a strength-level effort for the obliques and glute med (Ekstrom 2007). Raising your top leg pushed the glute med to 103% of a maximal effort (Boren 2011). Past 45 to 60 seconds, a harder version does more than a longer hold.
Side plank vs plank vs Copenhagen plank
| Attribute | Side plank | Plank | Copenhagen plank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resists | Your trunk bending sideways | Your lower back arching | Your hips dropping, held up by your top leg |
| Works most | Obliques, glute med | Abs, shoulders | Adductors, obliques |
| Easier version | Knees on the floor | Knees on the floor | Knee on the bench |
| Make it harder | Raise your top leg | Elbows forward, a plate on your back | Ankle on the bench |
Do the side plank and the plank, since they resist bending in different directions. The side bridge drew strength-level activity in the obliques and glute med, and the front plank did not (Ekstrom 2007). Move on to the Copenhagen plank when you also want inner-thigh strength for running, kicking or changes of direction.
Sets, hold time and progression
Side plank 2 to 3 times a week, at the end of a session. Do 2 to 3 holds per side and end each one when your hips start to drop. Start with your weaker side and hold the other side for the same time.
Time both sides now and then. McGill's endurance tests treat the two sides as balanced when one side's time is within 5% of the other's (McGill 1999, ACE protocol). Add 5 seconds a week. Once 45 seconds is clean on both sides, raise your top leg and drop back to 15 seconds.
Common mistakes
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Sagging hipsYour waist bends toward the floor and the obliques stop holding you. Lift your hips back into line, or drop to your knees.
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Hips piked backYour hips drift behind your feet and your glutes switch off. Squeeze your glutes and push your hips forward until you form one line.
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Rolling toward the floorYour chest turns down and the load moves to your front. Stack your top shoulder over your bottom one and your top hip over your bottom one.
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Elbow out of lineAn elbow ahead of or behind your shoulder strains it. Put it directly under your shoulder.
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Sinking into your shoulderYour shoulder shrugs toward your ear. Push the floor away with your forearm.
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Holding your breathKeep the brace and breathe in short, steady breaths.
Side plank variations
Questions people ask
How long should a side plank be held?
Hold 15 to 45 seconds per side for 2 to 3 sets, and end each hold when your hips start to drop. Beginners can start at 10 to 15 seconds on their knees. Once 45 seconds is clean on both sides, raise your top leg rather than holding longer.
How long can the average person side plank?
On Gravitus, as of September 2026, the median longest side plank logged is 45 seconds for men and 40 seconds for women. The top 10% have held 75 seconds (men) and 60 seconds (women), from 3,100+ men and 1,300+ women. Logged holds are training sets, not max tests. In tests to failure, female athletes held the side bridge for less time than male athletes (Evans 2007).
Is side plank harder than plank?
For most people, yes. You balance on one forearm and one foot instead of two of each. On Gravitus, the median longest side plank is 45 seconds for men and 40 seconds for women, against 60 seconds for both on the front plank (September 2026).
Why are side planks so hard for me?
Your bottom shoulder and the obliques and glute med on one side hold up your whole body. Female athletes held the side bridge for less time than male athletes, even with equal back-extensor times (Evans 2007). Start on your knees, stagger your feet for a wider base, and add 5 seconds a week.
Do side planks help with love handles?
No. Love handles are fat, and you cannot lose fat from one spot by training the muscle under it. Six weeks of ab exercise, 5 days a week, did not reduce belly fat, waist size or the skinfold above the hip (Vispute 2011). Lower body fat shrinks them.
Do side planks make your waist bigger?
Unlikely. Your bodyweight is the only load, and waist size mostly tracks body fat. In one trial, six weeks of ab exercise did not change waist size at all (Vispute 2011).
Are side planks good for lower back pain?
The side bridge is one of the three exercises spine researcher Stuart McGill uses for back health, since it trains the obliques and quadratus lumborum while your spine stays still. Start on your knees with short holds of 7 to 8 seconds, and stop if it raises your pain.
Do side planks help scoliosis?
Not proven. A case series of 25 patients with no control group reported curves 32% smaller after months of daily side planks (Fishman 2014). A randomized trial of 64 teenagers found no change in curve size after 6 months (Sarkisova 2019). Do not use it in place of a brace or other treatment your specialist prescribes.
Log every set and Gravitus charts your reps, times and records from week to week.
Get GravitusRelated exercises
- Ekstrom, Donatelli and Carp 2007. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 37(12):754-762.
- Boren et al. 2011. Int J Sports Phys Ther 6(3):206-223.
- Youdas et al. 2014. Sports Health 6(5):416-421.
- McGill, Childs and Liebenson 1999. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 80(8):941-944.
- ACE. McGill's torso muscular endurance test battery protocol.
- Evans, Refshauge and Adams 2007. J Sci Med Sport 10(6):447-455.
- Grenier and McGill 2007. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 88(1):54-62.
- Vispute et al. 2011. J Strength Cond Res 25(9):2559-2564.
- Fishman, Groessl and Sherman 2014. Glob Adv Health Med 3(5):16-21.
- Sarkisova et al. 2019. Glob Adv Health Med 8:2164956119887720.
- Fishman 2021. Glob Adv Health Med 10:21649561211019372.