Planche

What is Planche:

The Planche is a bodyweight static pushing exercise primarily working the shoulder flexors, particularly the anterior deltoids, that demands exceptional strength, mobility, and control. Originating from gymnastics, it involves supporting your body parallel to the ground using only your hands, with your arms straight and legs off the floor. The exercise showcases incredible shoulder flexion and core strength while engaging almost every muscle group. It is a feat of physical power and technical skill, making it a popular goal in calisthenics.

Key Benefits:

  • Strength Development: Builds upper body and core strength, particularly in the shoulders, triceps, and scapular stabilizers.
  • Biceps Tendon Resiliency: This exercise puts the biceps tendon under great load in the lengthened position, strengthening the tendon.
  • Wrist Mobility and Resiliency: Enhances the wrist joints' mobility and resiliency, making them less prone to injuries.
  • Convenience: This exercise can be performed virtually anywhere without equipment, making it accessible and convenient for most individuals.
  • Impressive Aesthetics: A visually striking move that symbolizes peak upper body pushing ability.

Variations:

  • Tuck Planche: An easier variation where the body is held parallel to the ground with the legs tucked in the body.
  • Advanced Tuck Planche: An easier variation with the lower back extended, hips flexed at around 90 degrees, and knee flexed at around 140 degrees.
  • Straddle Planche: An easier variation with an extended lower back, hips, and knees, with straddled legs.
  • Half-lay Planche: An easier variation with the lower back and hips extended and around 90 degrees of knee flexion.
  • Planche Push-up: An advanced variation of the push-up performed in the planche position instead of a high plank.
  • Maltese: A more advanced variation than the planche, performed with the arms spread out as much as possible.

Grip Variations:

  • On the Floor - A bit harder on the wrists.
  • On Parallettes - Easier on the wrists.
  • On Rings - Harder due to instability. The longer the straps, the less stable it becomes.
  • Pronated Hand Position - Most stress on the wrists.
  • Neutral Hand Position - Less stress on the wrists.
  • Supinated Hand Position - More stress on the biceps tendon and least stress on the wrists.

How to perform Planche:

  • Setup: Begin in a high plank or push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart, fingers pointing forward or slightly outward.
  • Engagement: Keep your arms straight, shoulders protracted and depressed, and core and glutes engaged.
  • Entry: Gradually shift your weight on your shoulders by leaning forward until your legs are lifted off the floor.
  • Hold Position: Hold the position for your desired duration or as long as you can without form breakdown, then stop once your form starts to degrade.
  • Release: Either slowly shift your weight back by leaning backward to the starting position or use one of your legs to stop the exercise and catch yourself.

Breathing Technique:

Proper breathing is crucial for maximizing performance and maintaining stamina throughout the exercise. Experiment with what you're comfortable with and let you perform your best. For starters, you can try the following:

  • Deep then Shallow Breaths: Take a deep breath as you go into the position, then take shallow breaths while holding the position at a comfortable interval.
  • Avoid Holding your Breath: Unless what you're doing lasts only a few seconds and you can endure holding your breath without issue, it's advisable to not hold it as this could lead to lightheadedness.
  • Shoulder Rotation: Maintain some degree of internal shoulder rotation for shoulder stability and optimal performance.
  • Scapular Position: Maintain depression and protraction of the scapulae for optimal performance.
  • Toes: Use your toes to help you on your entry to the position, raising your hips as high as needed to make the entry smoother and a bit easier on your shoulders.
  • Hand Position: If you're doing it on the floor without parallettes, turn your hands slightly outwards so that the gap of your thumb and index finger forms a wide v-shape pointing straight forward to reduce the strain on your wrists.
  • Surface Texture: If you have sweaty palms and performing it on the floor without parallettes, either opt for a surface texture that is not slippery and provides a good grip or use something like a rubber mat to overcome this issue to not mess with your confidence and focus in your training.
  • Alternatives: Since this exercise has the most demand on the shoulders and biceps, you can instead train for it and its other advanced variations using other exercises that work those muscle groups to a high degree, especially the shoulders with exercises like pike and handstand push-ups.
  • Accessories: Avoid common limiting factors such as weak spinal erectors and glutes. These muscles are heavily engaged in maintaining the lower body alignment, specifically the neutral spine and extended hips. So, make sure to strengthen these muscle groups.
  • Use Parallettes: Parallettes or yoga blocks can reduce wrist strain and improve control by allowing you to use your grip more efficiently.
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    Additional Information:

    Ways to make it easier:

    • Doing it with one leg bent and one leg extended
    • Repping out the entrance - holding for a second or how long you want, then back and forth
    • Decreasing the lever - moving your feet closer to your center
    • Using external force for support - resistance bands, a partner, or something
    • Regressing to an easier variation/exercise

    Ways to make it harder:

    • Holding it for as long as you can
    • Doing it in combination with different variations/exercises - handstand to planche, etc.
    • Adding Resistance - wearing an ankle weight or ask a partner to push/pull your feet down as much as you can resist

      Note: Weight Distribution - the farther you put the added resistance from your center, the harder it becomes
    • Progressing to a harder variation/exercise