Not that long ago, “planking” was all the rage across the social media landscape. From a yoga practitioner’s standpoint, it looked like a Face-Down Shavasana. But as this pose’s English translation – Corpse – suggests, like all fads, it died out. From a fitness point of view, Plank pose means taking your body into a slight incline on your hands and feet while attempting to maintain a neutral spine. And therein lies the potentially insidious problem, which isn’t exclusive to yoga, so this applies to you, too, workout warrior.
Nearly all yoga classes these days seem to include some variant of Plank. Whether it just makes a cameo or appears relentlessly as a component of a Sun Salutation, don’t throw biomechanical caution to the wind when you reach this stance. The version I’m most concerned about is what I’ve dubbed the “Saggy Plank.” It’s something I’ve been noticing across the board, whether I’m teaching private clients or leading classes at yoga studios or CrossFit gyms. You know the one: the lower back caves in (that’s called hyperlordosis or swayback), the knees start to dip, and before you know it, you’re a crumpled heap on the floor, as if you’d just had your hands kicked out from underneath you in Upward-Facing Dog (Google it, non-yoga types). To deflect further torpedoing of your lower back, consider which anatomical anomalies might be causing this lumbar lowdown.
The author demonstrates "Saggy Plank": hyperlordosis in the lower back.
One could easily point the finger at a muscle duo of near celebrity status across the fitness spectrum: the iliopsoas, a consolidated term for the lumbar-to-groin-spanning psoas major and its more southerly sibling, the iliacus, which covers the front, indented surface of the hip bone much like a pie crust covers a metal tin. Both of these hip-flexing muscles fuse into a common tendon on the inside, upper edge of the femur, the bone of the upper leg. If you have a psoas major that’s especially fibrous, tight and weak, it could be tilting the pelvis forward, bringing with it the lower back bones, causing that concave appearance to the lumbar spine in Saggy Plank. Stretching it would be great for all walks of life… literally “all walks” since each and every step – whether walking or running – involves the iliopsoas. How to stretch the hip flexors? There’s an app for that. Actually, I have an idea. Tune in (pun intended) next week for my variation on YTU Coreso Leg Lifts.
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lank – either on the hands or on forearms is often difficult for those not strong in their core or have shoulder or wrist challenges. I Often que the saggy planker to imagine a little cactus growing right under their belly button and to draw their BB up and even perhaps engage a slight posterior pelvic tilt. This usually aleviates the lordosis . Sometimes it is necessary to have the come down to their knees to get the right posture.
I use the “belly in cold water” cue here and it works almost every time. It seems no one likes that moment when the cold water reaches up to the belly button and we all have the same reaction, tuck the tailbone and draw the belly back towards the sacrum. Instant tubular torso;-)
I think that the blame is usually given to a lack of chest or core strength, good point to consider the hips. I just wish that more students were willing to take the “drop to your knees” cue.
Yes, I completely agree that swayback easily becomes a problem when in plank. And an additional problem I see is that the weight on the wrists can be too much for some, so I often recommend elbow-plank to my clients. Of course one still has to watch out for a strong core…
Interesting, I hadn’t thought about the issue of tight psoas muscles hindering plank. Aside from a weak core and tight psoas, could weak shoulder muscles cause a swayback since it compromises the integrity of the thoracic spine?
Jamie I love your que to get people out of this!! Maria, I feel that weak shoulders muscles create a retraction and elevation of the shoulder blades, thus creating instability thought the whole core, upper and side body. The culmination of all these things will create a “saggy plank”. Opt for forearm plank like Nicole said, maybe even with the knees down to create the engagement necessary to hold plank well for those that cannot manage.
I had never considered the iliopsoas as contributing to saggy plank. I will now use plank to help assess potentially tight psoas and can give my students yet another benefit to them for stretching it out.
I appreciate all of your good insights on the cause, and the tips to prevent, “saggy plank.” Although I didn’t have a term for the phenomenon, “saggy plank” has been a concern of mine as a yoga instructor for some time. I am happy to have some new tools to take back to my students.I especially like Jaime’s “belly in cold water” approach. I think every human being on earth has the same reaction to cold water on the belly.
As a personal trainer I often see the saggy back model. People come in and want to do push ups because they think it will make them look fit. In my opinion they have to start with a solid plank with scapular protraction, engaged core muscles in the gym. At their desk, they have to either take “standing breaks” to include a psoas stretch or elevate the hips as far away from the ground as possible to extend the hip as much as possible. We really need to rethink the office chair!
I have seen the “saggy plank” position time and time again in yoga classes, though hadn’t really focused my attention toward the hips. Thanks for the insight and suggestion- another nugget to add to my yoga tool belt!
I lost a lot of upper body strength and this posture is a must for me. but yes I too have “hyperlordosis or swayback “syndrome. I need a lot of focus on this or Ioose it .Elbows are also a problem if you hyper extend them.
Definitely have to consider the hips. I also find that a tubular core is of great help in ‘plank’. I feel a lot more strength and stability throughout the body when I maintain a tubular core in plank.
This is a great topic of discussion, This is one of the many exercises that actually can cause more damage than good when performed incorrectly. It is important as a practitioner to find cues that get your clients to change their biomechanics. We have a variety of cues up our sleeves to get them to “engage their core”, but really we need to take a minute to examine them specifically. Do they naturally have an anterior or posterior tilt and/or is their core “weak”. Finding cues to get your clients to do what you want is extremely important but taking time to analyze their body is also important. Maybe we need to make a variation to table top before they move onto plank pose. Help them find the strength and the proper body mechanics to improve their practice! This is the ultmate goal.
Plank you Claiborne for the article! (sorry, I couldn’t resist) .. but is that really a photo of you doing it the WRONG way!?? cuz… it looks better than most of my students’ planks. I think you should have another photo — side by side would be best — showing you doing it the “correct” way.. I do see that dip you are talking about but it’s not that exaggerated. You could do better
Equally important is to make sure the students’ planks don’t sag between the shoulders. Students often allow the scapulae to cave in and retract, putting the glenohumeral joint, neck, and clavicles at risk. Protraction of the scapulae is vital to a healthy plank.
At one time or another many of us could be caught with a “saggy plank”, especially when beginning our yoga practice or planking for other workouts. Every time I step into plank I pause and make a mental note of how I am positioned. Alignment is tough but it’s something that you should always take account for. Like Claiborne says, if the lumbar is spin can be the key to the posture in the way that it effects the knee and hip.
It’s suprising to me that the on your knees variation is offered so rarely in yoga classes, especially when the teacher plan on keeping the student in a plank position for a while. In group exercise classes such as ” Les Mills Pump” this is the standard and the full variation seen as an option. Kind of strange that there would be more ego involved in a yoga class than in a fitness class or is it lack of biomechanical understanding (levers) that is at play?!
Thanks for the good read and knowledge on this pose, after being positioned properly in a class recently I realized that my breath shortened because of my weakness in the core muscles. Learning to breath into it allows me to continue to strengthen those core muscles and keeping my back protected and stable.
This is such an important issue, since so many Americans have weak cores, gluts, traps, etc. And the core takes the heat in a position like plank. I’ve found it easiest if i start to ignite my core at the beginning of a training session. Doing my warm ups, corrective exercises, and so on. At least from there I know my core is turning on and that I should be using it from here on out. But in Yoga, what would the core warm up be? I know for myself, even in Tadasana, I need to ignite all of my muscles for proper stabilization and strength, including my core muscles. Shouldn’t this be something happening throughout our day? How do we get across to our students the importance of a strong trunk if they are doing it wrong all of the time?
This is a helpful article on this pose, however, I find that by tucking my tailbone and engaging my thigh and calf muscles and pushing into my hands automatically lifts my core and lengthens my back. This is something someone taught me to do a while back to help me properly hold the pose. So, am I still doing plank wrong by this approach?
Claiborne, While I haven’t noticed this much in my students, it could be that I am not looking for it carefully enough. Certainly, I can see why having a short psoas (pretty common for anyone that sits a lot), can contribute to this. I agree with Kate’s comment above that the alignment cues she offers can mitigate this. In fact, drawing the navel into the spine then drawing the pelvic floor up is the first cue I give in plank. This serves to initiate the posterior tilt (tucking the tailbone). While I have always thought of pushing into the floor as a way to engage the serratus anterior more actively, I see how it also can lengthen the back.
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[...] So someone may think they are super strong in this area of their body, but when asked to hold plank pose for a minute or longer, their bodies will not be able to hold this pose. Vital to this pose are [...]
thank you for sharing. depress & protract, depress & protract, depress & protract. lesson learned from YTU TT. my plank & chattarunga dandasana have been polished!
I find it most interesting to explore relationships in plank pose, the two that have been most relevant lately are the intersection of the intersection of the thoracolumbarfascia, diaphragm and psoas in the back of the body and the tubular core front/back trunk relationship.
Plank is the last exercise performed in a pilates class. This allows the spine to be warmed up and the client’s ability to utilize their abdominals to be assessed. I would first ask a client performing a plank like the one above to scoop their abs in and up and lengthen their tailbone towards their heels. In addition, I would be sure that they understood what I was saying by using tactile cues such as placing my hand on their abs and asking them to lift and if they could not then they should lower onto their knees.
This is a very common problem – I see it often. People unfamiliar with this pose seem to struggle with the corrections and need reminders repeated as the body loves to return to its old habits. It is a challenging pose physically as well and important to consider building up to the pose by placing the knees on the floor until the form is mastered.