To make the plank even harder, you can do the decline variation. With your feet elevated, your upper body has to bear more weight.

Step 1: Get down on the floor like you are doing a regular plank. Your forearms are on the floor as usual, but this time your toes should be placed on a bench behind you (about 12-18″ tall.)

Tighten your abs and keep your body straight. Now hold this position.

Decline Plank video:

[video coming soon]

See more exercise guides in The Bodyweight Exercise Collection.

Today’s question is about exercising and what to do if you get worn out or start shaking during an exercise…

I’m really proud of myself for sticking to exercising; especially the plank. I started at 3 times a day for 30 seconds each and I’ve now moved up to 5 times a day and for a minute each. This exercise is very demanding of my body, but not too strenuous. I get to the point where my body is shaking and then I stop. I’ve read on the Internet that you should stop if your body is shaking. Is that true? I’ve always heard the cliche “no pain, no gain” and figured it applied to this situation.

Thanks,
Shaky Stan

Hi Stan,

Good job with the plank progressions! Stick with it and you should see continued progress.

With most isometric holds (plank, chair, etc.,) you may shake a bit. It’s natural.

In the case of the plank, a little shaking is a good thing. It shows that you’re pushing yourself. As long as you are maintaining proper form, there is no reason to stop.

Now, if you’re shaking and your hips are dropping to the floor and you’re grinding your teeth, that’s a different story! In that case, you need to stop immediately. But if you can hold the position for a little while longer after you start shaking a bit, you’ll make more progress.

The key to any exercise is to stop working before your form deteriorates. If you continue to exercise but with bad form, at best you’ll develop bad habits, and at worst, you’ll seriously injure yourself. (This applies to weight lifting as well as running and cycling.)

For example, let’s say your arms start shaking while you’re doing a bench press or shoulder press. Stop! If your arms give out, you could drop the weight on your neck! That’s not something you want!

If you’re doing the plank and you start shaking too much, you just kneel down. No biggie.

The one-leg plank is simply a plank done with one leg elevated. You will be balancing on both forearms, but only one foot.

Step 1: Lower your body down into the standard plank position – stiff body, propped up on elbows and forearms, with toes on the floor. Lift one leg off the floor and hold this position.

Repeat for at least two sets, one per leg. Each should be held for 30-120 seconds.

One-leg Plank video:

[video coming soon]

See more exercise guides in The Bodyweight Exercise Collection.