Abs Strength
Hand Plank
The Hand Plank is a beginner-friendly bodyweight strength exercise that targets the abdominals. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesAbs
Secondary muscles—
EquipmentBodyweight
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Hand Plank
- Start on all fours with your hands flat on the floor directly under your shoulders.
- Step both feet back one at a time until your legs are straight and your body is in a long line.
- Press the floor away to spread your shoulder blades and keep a slight rounding through the upper back.
- Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs to stop your hips from sagging or piking up.
- Hold the position with steady breathing, eyes looking down between your hands to keep a neutral neck.
- Lower your knees back to the floor with control after the target time and rest before the next set.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
- Builds full-core endurance and anti-extension strength.
- Stabilizes the shoulders for pressing and overhead work.
- Reinforces full-body bracing under your own bodyweight.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
- Letting the hips sag toward the floor, which loads the lower back instead of the abs.
- Piking the hips up high, which turns the plank into a partial downward dog and removes the core challenge.
- Letting the head drop or crane forward, which strains the neck and breaks the body's straight line.
- Locking the elbows and sinking into the shoulders instead of pressing the floor away.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Hand Plank, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
