By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. ). The Copenhagen Plank is very simple, all you need is a chair or bench. What are the techniques to master the Copenhagen Plank?. Because we're going to work a lot of lateral stability in this plank, you're going to start to get a lot of hip effect, Samuel says. How to: Copenhagen Plank Primary Muscles Used:Upper Legs, Hip Adductors Exercise Families:Hip Adduction Equipment:Chair Trainer:Kayla Itsines Lying l Sign Up Sweat Programs Articles Community Support By Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. Strengthening the obliques helps to better stabilize the torso and spine, helping to promote better posture, as well as rotational strength. Make sure to maintain proper form with a neutral spine throughout the exercise and stop immediately if you feel any pain or discomfort. The adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, pectineus, and gracilis are the muscles that are involved for adducting the hip, or bringing the leg closer to the midline. Copenhagen planks can fit into a program where any abdominal or core exercise can go. Mix the Copenhagen plank into your usual resistance training regimen and try holding it for 10 to 20 seconds at a time, doing three to four sets on each side, suggests Ros. Copenhagen plank doesn't engage core? : r/bodyweightfitness This will add extra tension and difficulty to the exercise, targeting your adductors more effectively. This will increase the resistance on your deep core muscles, making it more challenging to hold the position for longer. The Copenhagen plank looks a bit like a side plank: Youre leaning on your hand or elbow, other arm away from the ground, trying to hold your body in a rigid position. If the answer is no, then youre not ready for this exercise and should go back to regular side planks first until youre stronger. Copenhagen Planks build eccentric strength in the groin as well as core stability. This variation is similar to the regular plank but requires more coordination as you alternate tapping each hand forward into a pushup position. For more information, please see our The best way to do a Copenhagen Plank: Method, Advantages, and Variations - Global. A great alternative is the Copenhagen plank: a version you can do at home, does not require a partner, and has multiple levels of progressions for various skill levels. If your form is otherwise great, but you still have knee pain, thats a sign something might be off, and I would refer you to a physical therapist, athletic trainer, or other pain specialist. No need to be a hero and set the bench in contact with the thigh. Remember the Copenhagen keys: maintain stability and squeeze your glutes and shoulder blades while fighting off rotation in both directions. Instead of planting your ankle on top of the bench, if you plant you knee if will shorten the lever, as they say in physics, making it easier. This Side Plank Leaves Every Part of Your Core on Fire 5.1K views 3 years ago Here I have one of my awesome clients Mitch performing a modified regression of the Copenhagen plank as he's performing it with his knee, shin, foot, and ankle on the. Gaze forward and maintain a straight line from head to heels. Your #1 site for all things sports rehab, sports performance, and orthopedic rehabilitation is: https://www.sportsrehabexpert.com/http://www.annarbor.physio . Copenhagen Plank - Sweat See how to perform a Copenhagen plank perfectly with instructions by Sweat co-founder and personal trainer, Kayla Itsines. Welltech. Engage core, grounding through left elbow and side of left foot, and lift hips and knees off the floor. And this training can do you some good: Improving your core stability not only helps prevent injuries in your back, but it can also improve your athletic performance, she notes. That's what makes this a great plank, Samuel says. In order of easiest to hardest, the progression goes: While planks are often done for increasingly long periods of time, you dont have to take that approach to get the benefits out of the Copenhagen plank. The Copenhagen plank, also known as the Copenhagen adduction exercise, is a side plank variation that focuses on the adductor muscles of the inner thigh and groin. Along with those variations, you can also progress the Copenhagen plank by increasing the duration of the exercise. prohockeystrength.com., the official website of the Strength and Conditioning Association of Professional Hockey. By strengthening one muscle group, we help shift into the posture that allows the other to contract as well, creating a positive feedback loop. and our The Copenhagen Hold, as shown below, is a unique plank variation that specifically targets the musculature of the inner groin. How often have you dismissed the plank? Place your left foot on a bench, box or Ottoman, right elbow on the bench. 2017;45(13):3052-3059. Every time you take a stride, you're essentially on the one leg, she explains. The exercise is isometric, which means you hold your body in one position while contracting your muscles. In essence: All in all, this is a great exercise that can provide excellent results and help prevent injuries in the groin area; therefore, it makes a great addition to any resistance training or conditioning program for anyone aiming to improve their inner thigh strength. Find the right variation that provides zero pain. Below we list all the variations you can apply, from easy to hard, so that you can pick the right one based on your skill level. If you cant do any of the versions above, even the one with your knee on the bench, one way to modify is to keep your free leg on the ground. Obviously, this trains the adductor muscles. How Long Do You Really Need to Hold a Plank? Exercises You Should Be Doing: Copenhagen Side Plank Shenanigans Alternatives to Copenhagen Plank are an excellent way to challenge your core and increase stability. There is one exercise that you can do with zero equipment at home to strengthen your adductors and help prevent injury. However, it can also be used as a full body conditioning exercise, as it also requires the engagement of the core and, to some extent, the shoulders and back. Sure, it's a simple movement that doesn't stir much excitement when you see someone holding the position in a corner of the gymbut if you level up to one of the toughest variations of the exercise around, the Copenhagen plank, you won't be so quick to snub your nose. The Copenhagen plank trains them in this fashion, and therefore has more transfer towards actual real life than exercises like the adductor machine. Watch Ros demonstrate the move below. Large eccentric strength increase using the Copenhagen adduction exercise in football: a randomized controlled trial. They continued the program into the 28 week long season, keeping repetitions and intensity high, but reducing the training frequency (reducing to 1 weekly session, 1 set, 12-15 reps per side). Then, you'll hover the other foot a few inches below the bench and hold this position as steadily as possible. Start with 10 seconds, then, as the move becomes easier, slowly add a few more seconds at a time, says Ros. From here we are going to raise our hips up by contracting our adductors until are hips are in a straight line. While holding the plank position, the stabilizer muscles in your core will need to work extra hard to keep your body which is being supported only by the foot resting on the bench in place. In addition to strengthening the adductors, the Copenhagen plank also contains the elements of a normal side plank, meaning it has a side effect of strengthening a variety of core muscles . However, there are many ways the exercise difficulty level can be scaled up or down depending on your abilities. Additional information: Adductor longus and pectineus will also contribute to hip flexion, while adductor magnus (posterior head) also contributes to hip extension. Additionally, the variations mentioned can help you challenge your core and give those muscles extra work. This banded adductor exercise is a good place to start, and you can also do single-leg movements like step-ups to work the adductors alongside other leg muscles. The exercise is isometric, which means you hold your body in one position while contracting your muscles. The adductors make up one of the biggest muscle groups in your lower body. As such, a better name might be the adductor plank, or adductor side plank, but the Copenhagen name has stuck. You can also check out his Instagram, he's pretty easy on the eyes. Remember the Copenhagen keys: maintain stability and squeeze your glutes and shoulder blades while fighting off rotation in both directions. Place your top leg onto a bench or raised surface. David is a writer and strength coach and co-owner of Roman Fitness Systems. Hold this position. That weight is trying to shift you forward and back, and you have to resist that rotation while holding yourself up with one leg, she adds. The Copenhagen Plank is very simple, all you need is a chair or bench. Jeff Tomko is a freelance fitness writer who has written for Muscle and Fitness, Men's Fitness, and Men's Health. Your abductors also help stabilize your leg, preventing your knee from collapsing when youre balancing on just one foot, she adds. Youre almost there, but Samuel says theres one final piece to the Copenhagen puzzle. This means your core and adductors have to work extra hard to maintain stability. The FIFA 11+ program is popular for reducing a wide range of injuries, however it has not been shown to be successful with groin injuries. These modifications will add extra difficulty to the Copenhagen Plank and challenge your core and stabilizer muscles. The body and leg then lower, so the foot just gently touches the floor, and then is repeated for desired repetitions. This help increases the strength of your adductors and improves your overall hip stability and balance. The Copenhagen plank is a unilateral exercise, meaning it targets just one side of the body at a time. If youre performing the exercise with your right arm on the floor, for example, youll fire up your right sides obliques and left legs adductors and abductors, she adds. Copenhagen Plank Progressions - YouTube Now you're not only like working the adductors in the leg that's on top of the bench, but you're also using your hip flexors to bring the bottom leg [up to] 90 degrees, she explains. If you do it right, you should be giving everything you have for seconds. , Your email address will not be published. The Copenhagen Plank Works Double Duty as a Core and Inner-Thigh While the Copenhagen adduction exercise doesn't appear to be functional, Haroy et al i Show more Shop the E3 Rehab store Copenhagen Planks for Strength and Reducing Risk of Groin Injury. If you're performing the exercise with your right arm on the floor, for example, you'll fire up your right side's obliques and left leg's adductors and abductors, she adds. You should also strive to keep the legs together, as this will work your leg adductors more efficiently. However, jumping from tuck planche to advanced tuck is quite an enormous task ahead. Ensuring you are actively training for adduction strength as well as abduction strength will provide more overall benefits. Unlike most plank holds, which encourage 60 seconds or more of isometric agony, the Copenhagen plank is a brief affair. The Copenhagen plank is one of the most challenging plank variations out there, a side plank variation that requires extra glute and hip adductor focus and builds all-around ab and core. BJSM. A kettlebell or dumbbell work fine, but for just like TGUs I find the kettlebell to work a little bit better. But from a functional standpoint, the adductor group are important in stabilising your hips. Theyre one of the major muscle groups that help us move side to side. How to Add the Copenhagen Plank to Your Routine, How to Train In All 3 Planes of Motion and Why It Matters, Modification: Copenhagen Plank with Short Lever, Progression: Copenhagen Plank with Kettlebell or Knee Drive, 7 Abs Exercises to Tighten Stomach Muscles for a Strong Core, The Best Inner-Thigh Exercises That Reach Those Hard-to-Target Adductors, How to Strengthen Your Hip Flexors Plus, 5 Exercises to Try, The Best Core Stability Exercises to Level Up Your Workouts, How to Do a Curtsy Lunge to Build Your Booty, How to Do the Bear Crawl Exercise to Boost Strength and Coordination, 7 Hip Thrust Variations to Build Lower-Body Strength at Any Fitness Level. All these variations are excellent alternatives to the Copenhagen Plank that you can use to challenge your core and build stability in different ways. Better yet, combine the two moves during a single set, as Ros demonstrates below. Copenhagen Planks - E3 Rehab This movement is an advanced exercise that also works your entire body. Once you have mastered the regular two-leg Copenhagen plank, try doing it on a single leg for an extra challenge. Remember to breathe normally throughout the exercise. Combine Copenhagen Planks and Minibands for Multiplanar Ab Strength Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Dietitian/Nutritionist in NYC, Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, WELLTECH APPS LIMITED, Karaiskaki 13, 3032, Limassol, Cyprus, How to Do the Copenhagen Plank: Technique and Popular Progressions, Copenhagen side plank: technique, tips, and progressions, 10 Core Yoga Poses for Abs, Hip, and Lower Back Strength (With Sequence), Rear Delt Fly: Technique, Muscles Worked & Variations to Try. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Copenhagen Plank. It is also great for improving core strength and stability, especially in the obliques. Benefits. For non-athletes, the exercise can simply help to create better hip stability, which is associated with reduced risk of back, hip and knee injuries as well as better posture. Thats why it can be particularly useful for finding correcting muscle imbalances, says Ros. As soon as you go up onto your palm instead of your forearm, you take away some of that stability, so theres a little bit more work that your body has to do to stabilize and not rotate to one side, she explains. This progression requires a high level of inner thigh strength and core stability, therefore it is only suggested for those who have already mastered the traditional Copenhagen side plank. 2010;13(2):202-204. The Copenhagen Plank Will Upgrade Your Ab Workout, 8-Minute Ab Workouts Won't Build a Six-Pack, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Similarly, the ability to protect your hips with stronger adduction, will help with weightlifting too and this subsequently means you can lift or train more intensity during squats, deadlifts and other exercises, which will lead to increased strength in other muscles such as the quads, glutes and hamstrings. Serner A, et al. This variation requires you to move your hands and feet in a walking motion while keeping your hips steady. Its mainly used to strengthen the groin and hip muscles. This pain can range from mild discomfort to outright agony and can be exacerbated by physical activity. Copenhagen planks are mainly aimed at improving strength in your hip and groin muscles, known as adductors; however, they also work the core and more specifically, the obliques. Youll also notice that youre actually set up in a position that mirrors a runner's stride, so be aware of reinforcing a good, high-knee position, and make sure you can own it in the sagittal plane. Forget counting your reps in minutes. Copenhagen, Danish Kbenhavn, capital and largest city of Denmark. This variation will target the core muscles more intensely than the regular side plank. Fortunately, with side plank variations its not so difficult. Once the static version becomes to hard, we can simply introduce some movement and perform the copenhagen plank for reps instead of time. I like to say [hold the plank for] five breaths because that way people actually breathe., While the Copenhagen plank can be an ideal exercise for optimizing lower-body strength and core stability, you should consult your health-care provider if you're experiencing any knee pain during the move, which may occur if youve had an injury or surgery on the arae in the past, says Ros. Copenhagen Plank - Exercise demonstration video and information for Olympic weightlifting - The Copenhagen plank is a simple exercise for adductor strength and hip stability. ^ So interpreted in Carl Valle (2020-04-17), "Is the Copenhagen Adduction . Smith Machine Bench Press: Is It Right for You? You can make the exercise easier by resting the bottom leg on the floor, or positioning yourself closer to the bench. 2019;53:145-152. Oh look, a neat little table of contents. Rotating your shoulders forward will cause you to lose balance, so keep your shoulders in line with your chest throughout the movement. By squeezing your legs together, you will engage your core muscles to keep yourself straight while holding the isometric contraction. From here, think of a side plank.In other words, place your forearm perpendicular to your torso on the groundthat's going to protect your shoulder, then shift into a safer external rotation. So your next question might be why you should train them in the first place. Here are some options: Also known as the Vasisthasana in yoga, the side plank is excellent for strengthening the core muscles and activating stabilizer muscles. Plus, they'll be challenged to prevent you from rotating forward, says Ros. Thorborg K, et al. As your adductors get stronger, slowly move more of your calf off the bench until just your foot is resting on it (the classic Copenhagen plank), she suggests. Another variation of the knee-assisted Copenhagen plank is the bent-knee Copenhagen plank. In our opinion, the best way to progress this movement is to use a suspension trainer (like a TRX system) to rest your upper foot. Try a 10-second hold, repeated three times with rest in between as needed. By working mainly on the groin muscles in our legs, the Copenhagen plank benefits the hips and adductors by making them stronger and decreasing the risk of strains and injuries. Why Mastering the Pistol Squat Should Be Your Next Fitness Goal, 6 Triceps Extension Variations to Strengthen Your Arms, No Matter Your Fitness Level or Abilities, The Best Exercises for Sculpting Your Glutes, The Z Press Will Challenge Your Upper-Body and Core Strength Heres How to Do It, The 10 Best Hamstring Exercises to Strengthen Your Lower Body, How to Improve Your Flexibility with Stretching Exercises, How to Do Dead Bugs to Strengthen Your Core, The Kettlebell Windmill Is the Stability Exercise Your Core and Shoulders Need Heres How to Do It. Think about squeezing both shoulder blades and glutes. First up, let's have a look at the anatomy of the groin. An interesting study that Physio-Network highlights in this article showed that groin injuries increased by 17 times when adductor strength was less than 80% of abductor strength. Far and away the most common complaint of this exercise is knee discomfort on the front leg. The Copenhagen plank, or Copenhagen adduction exercise, is a side plank variation that targets the muscles of the inner thigh and groin- the adductors. For even more stability challenges, move off of your forearm and onto your hand. Focus on controlling your movements through the transition from one position to another, all while maintaining perfect form. Press into side plank position. As the Copenhagen plank aims to strengthen the hips, it would be ideal to start by performing some hip mobility exercises to warm the muscles up and improve the range of motion. Copenhagen Side Plank w/ Leg Lift There's really nothing fancy here. How (and Why) to Do Copenhagen Planks - lifehacker.com.au Many of the muscles in this group are thin and can be prone to tears or strains (pulls), so the researchers used this exercise to strengthen the adductors. The Copenhagen plank is an excellent exercise to test your core strength, stability, coordination, and balance. Our website content, services, and products are not intended to serve as medical advice and are intended for informational and educational purposes only. So you need to keep your workout progress with more advanced dip progressions. Before you try any Copenhagen plank, its important to master the traditional side plank, which will help you build up the core strength necessary to tackle the challenging lower-body exercise, says Ros. And trust us, youll first need to make adjustments. If the variation with the top leg straight is too challenging, you can either rest the bottom leg on the ground or bend the top knee. The Copenhagen plank, also known as the Copenhagen adductor plank due to its target muscles, or the Copenhagen plank hold, is a more challenging side plank variation. In team. By the end of this article, you will clearly understand the vital aspect of the most challenging exercise and learn the essential techniques needed to master the Copenhagen plank.. Furthermore, you must keep your body straight while holding the plank position. No, you place one leg (your top leg) on a bench. The main technique for mastering the Copenhagen Plank exercise is to keep your core and glutes tight. The knees caving in is often the cause of many injuries. This exercise requires extra balance and stability, as youll need to maintain your balance while waiting on the unstable surface of the Swiss ball. Say you notice that its much easier to do a Copenhagen plank on your right side than your left, a potential sign of a muscle imbalance. The Copenhagen plank or Copenhagen adduction exercise is a side plank variation that targets the muscles of the inner thigh and groin, the adductors. Just like the abdominal muscles, they often work in everyday life as stabilizers, not necessarily movers. Activate your core muscles and raise your hips, so your torso is perpendicular to the floor. Check this article review of the best resistance bands: Torroband Resistance Bands: The Best Resistance Bands for Home Fitness. How are we going to fix it? The Copenhagen Plank, or the Copenhagen Side Plank, is a side plank variation that, in addition to training the abdominals, targets the adductor (groin) muscles. Numerous studies have shown a correlation between hip adductor strength and groin related injuries. After holding the tuck planche, you must be excited to move towards the advanced tuck. At the end of the program, these athletes demonstrated a 35.7% increase in eccentric hip adduction strength! However, instead of your feet on the ground, place the top foot onto a chair, bench or another stable surface, while holding the bottom leg off the ground. By avoiding common mistakes and progressing from basic form to more advanced variations, you can maximize the benefits of the exercise and get the most out of it. Your adductors and abductors and both your inner and outer thighs are going to wind the firing in this move as well.. This ability to strengthen the adductors helps to ensure your lateral movements arent solely reliant on your abductors. The Copenhagen plank is a very technical, yet very effective, exercise. The Copenhagen plank is a unilateral exercise, meaning it targets just one side of the body at a time. The adductor muscles also help support better athletic performance, especially in sports or activities that involve running or kicking. We may earn a commission through links on our site. We will start with the easiest progression and work our way up to more advanced variations. This exercise is so effective that when an adductor strengthening programme, adding just ONE exercise, was implemented, groin injury rates fell by 41%. This variation is a Copenhagen plank progression, as it requires more strength and stability since there is the addition of weights. All else equal I prefer this over the bent-knee variation because in real life the adductors contact with the ankle/foot as the contact point, so I think this transfers over to sports and real life better. For runners, this position reinforces the posture you want when you run. An individual starts by lying on his or her side with the forearm supported on the floor and the top leg being held by a partner at either the ankle or the knee. Training them effectively, like training all other muscles, will improve their form as well as their function. From here we are going to raise our hips up by contracting our adductors until are hips are in a straight line. If youre coming off of a knee injury, or have a history of knee pain, try the regression variations first. The adductor group's action is to well, adduct the leg which means bringing your leg closer to the midline. But what makes the Copenhagen special is that you do not rest your feet or knees on the ground. In addition to strengthening the adductors, the Copenhagen plank also contains the elements of a normal side plank, meaning it has a side effect of strengthening a variety of core muscles, including your obliques. Holding your breath can cause you to become dizzy and affect your form, so make sure to keep breathing steadily while doing the Copenhagen Plank. Related article: Advanced Plank Exercises for Insane Core Strength. Copenhagen plank - Wiktionary So building up the strength of those stabilizer muscles [in your legs and core] is important., Ready to give the exercise a shot? Copenhagen | History, Population, & Facts | Britannica This will create additional stability challenges, including challenging your shoulder stability like in a Turkish Get-Up. So what are the techniques to master the Copenhagen plank? Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Lift the hips up until your body is in a straight line with the lower leg off the floor and hold. Try and hold the Copenhagen plank for as long as possible, repeated a few times a week. And since it is so challenging, its best to make this your first move of your core workout. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. As the Senior Fitness Editor at Shape, Kristen oversees the Fitness category and covers workout trends, exercise tips, recovery, and more. This will improve abdominal and adductor activation.

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