Adductor Side Plank Tutorial

Learn how to properly Adductor Side Plank

watch the video and read the description below to learn helpful cues and avoid common mistakes of performing the Adductor Side Plank exercise.

Description:

The adductor side plank is a regular side plank with a twist.  Instead of stacking your feet on top of each other on the ground, the adductor plank is performed by placing the inside of your top foot/leg onto an elevated surface such as a bench or a box. 

The bottom leg remains straight or slightly bent beneath whatever you have placed your top leg onto.

This targets your adductor muscles (the big muscle group on the inside of your thigh). The adductors aid in the actions of running, jumping, squatting, and deadlifting so adductor plank is a great way to keep these muscles strong and healthy in addition to these other movements. 

Helpful Cues:

  • Start with more of your leg on the box/bench and progress from there if it’s too easy.  The less of your leg that’s on the elevated surface, the more difficult the exercise becomes.   

  • Maintain a straight line from your top leg to your top shoulder.  This will assure that the exercise is targeting the desired muscles.

  • Concentrate on pushing with the leg on top of the bench to keep your hips up.

Common Mistakes:

  • Leaning your torso forward.  This takes your body out of a straight line and shifts some of the tension to muscles that we are not trying to target. 

  • Starting with too much or too little of your leg on the box/bench.  Even though this is a very difficult exercise, it is scalable to ability level.  If you’re a total beginner to exercising, you might hurt yourself if you try to do this exercise with only the inside edge of your foot on the box and if you’re a seasoned exerciser, you are likely getting nothing out of this exercise if you have your entire shin on the box.  Select the start position that is correct for you and your current abilities, then aim to progress that over time.

    Other names for the Adductor Side Plank:

  • Adductor Plank

  • Adductor Bridge

  • Coppenhagen Plank

    Common Adductor Side Plank Variations:

  • Weighted Adductor Side Plank,

  • Adductor Side Plank w/ Hip Lift