Straddle Planche

What is Straddle Planche:

The Straddle Planche is a bodyweight static pushing exercise primarily working the shoulder flexors, particularly the anterior deltoids. It involves supporting your entire body horizontally, parallel to the ground, using only your hands while your legs are spread apart in a straddle position to reduce the leverage and make the hold slightly easier than the planche.

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.
  • Skill Progression: Acts as a stepping stone toward unlocking the full planche and other advanced straight-arm bodyweight moves.
  • Convenience: This exercise can be performed virtually anywhere without equipment, making it accessible and convenient for most individuals.

Variations:

  • Planche Lean: A static bodyweight exercise similar to the high plank but is performed while leaning forward, putting most of the load on the shoulders.
  • Tuck Planche: An easier variation with the legs tucked to the chest.
  • Advanced Tuck Planche: An advanced variation with the lower back extended, hips flexed at around 90 degrees, and knee flexed at around 140 degrees.
  • Half-lay Planche: An advanced variation with the lower back and hips extended and around 90 degrees of knee flexion.
  • Planche: An advanced variation with an extended lower back, hips, and knees.

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 Straddle Planche (Floor):

  • Setup: Begin in a high plank or push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart, fingers pointing forward or slightly outward, and spread out your legs in a straddle position.
  • 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:

    • Repping out the entrance - holding for a second or how long you want, then back and forth
    • Decreasing the lever - moving your legs closer to your center or increasing the straddle
    • 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 - straddle planche to handstand, etc.
    • Increasing the lever - moving your legs away from your center or decreasing the straddle
    • Progressing to a harder variation/exercise