Side Plank
The side plank is an isometric hold where you support your body sideways on one forearm and the edge of one foot. It trains your obliques and abs to resist bending sideways, with your shoulder stabilising. Pick it to strengthen your trunk's sides. Bend your knees and rest on them to make it easier.
Muscles worked
The side plank trains the abs and obliques, with shoulders helping.
Weekly sets for abs
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for abs, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the side plank
- 01Lie on your side with your elbow directly under your shoulder and your legs straight, feet stacked.
- 02Press your forearm into the floor and lift your hips until your body is straight from head to feet.
- 03Keep your hips pushed forward slightly so your body forms a straight line, not a bend backward.
- 04Rest your top hand on your hip or reach it toward the ceiling.
- 05Hold while breathing slowly into your belly, then switch sides and match the time.
Coaching cues
- Hips up, body straight
- Elbow under shoulder
- Push the floor away
Common mistakes
- Letting your bottom hip sink toward the floor removes the oblique work; lift your hips until your body is straight.
- Placing your elbow far from your shoulder strains the joint; stack it directly under your shoulder.
- Rolling your top hip backward turns it into a twist; stack your hips vertically and keep your chest facing forward.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Holds are logged in seconds. Hit your target and the next one grows by 5 to 15 seconds, depending on how long you already hold.
- Miss it and the next target is the time you actually held, never below 10 seconds.
- Longer bodyweight holds mostly build endurance, so once 60 seconds is comfortable the weighted version is the path to more muscle.
- Deload weeks drop the hold to 70 percent of the target so you recover.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Side Plank alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your side plank free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.