Fortunately, with side plank variations its not so difficult. Gently tap your butt to a chair and stand back up. To begin with start with your knee on the chair. These should be performed slowly and with control. This particular exercise you can do 1-2 times per week for 2-3 sets, and that will have you well on your toward stronger adductors, better posture, fewer injuries, and some compliments on your inner thighs. These muscles consist of the gluteus medius and adductors.These muscles are often weak in people, which can lead to knee valgus (knock knees) and other issues. It is a fairly technical exercise; for this reason, we will describe in detail how to perform it successfully and apply regressions or progressions when needed. Ahead, learn details on all the benefits a Copenhagen plank has to offer and find out how to do one with perfect form every single time no matter how you modify or spice up the move. The groin is a loosely defined term and what we are actually going to focus on is the adductor group of muscles. Or, try driving your bottom knee up so it's in line with your hips, keeping it bent at a 90-degree angle, suggests Ros. Bourne M, et al. Ensuring you are actively training for adduction strength as well as abduction strength will provide more overall benefits. Repeat on both sides for 10-15 seconds, rest for a few seconds, and do the exercise again. To do this exercise, lie on your side with your feet and legs stacked, then prop yourself up on one arm while keeping the other arm extended. Oh look, a neat little table of contents. Idk I don't feel it in my core at all though. Obviously, this trains the adductor muscles. 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. Looking to improve the strength, range of motion, and control of your hips to enhance your function and performance? 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. To get even more bang for your buck when it comes to strength training, turn to the Copenhagen plank, a side plank's leveled-up cousin that tests your core and lower-body strength. How are we going to fix it? Abductors bring your leg away from your body, just like an alien abduction takes a person away from Earth. Countless studies have shown that the Copenhagen adductor plank is second-to-none when it comes to developing adductor strength. Position yourself in an extended side plank position, perpendicular to a bench, Place the top leg on the bench, using the internal part of your foot to support the hold, Extend out the bottom leg while keeping it off the floor, With your top hand, hold a kettlebell up from the handle, with the weight underside facing up (bottom-up), You can use a dumbbell to decrease the intensity and increase stability, If you need to regress this version, simply position yourself in a forearm side plank, Be sure to perform this on a well-leveled, smooth floor to avoid losing balance, Place yourself in a perpendicular position to a TRX, in an extended side plank position, Place your top foot on the TRX handle section, As an alternative to a TRX, you could use gymnastics rings or a thick elastic band as a support system, Raise up the TRX or rings to increase the intensity, Keep the body in position and avoid swinging by tensing all your muscles, from your adductors and glutes to your core and arm, Add weight to hold up to further increase the intensity. Strengthening the obliques helps to better stabilize the torso and spine, helping to promote better posture, as well as rotational strength. For more information, please see our 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. It is also great for improving core strength and stability, especially in the obliques. Ishoi L, et al. They are mainly included in rehab programs for athletes who have suffered an injury in the groin area, but they are often also found in strength programs. If you notice your form is breaking down, consider scaling back to a modification. Start in a side-lying position with your elbow placed directly under your shoulder and the feet stacked one on top of the other or with the feet slightly wider apart. 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. Most importantly, remember to breathe, says Ros. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anterior_Hip_Muscles_2.PNG, You Dont Need To Fix Your Flat or Pronated Feet. Groin injuries are particularly common in sports that involve kicking, running or even jumping and weakness in adduction strength has recently been highlighted as a root cause in new research. The Copenhagen plank is a unilateral exercise, meaning it targets just one side of the body at a time. And yet, [the inner and outer thighs are] often neglected parts of the body, so some people have weak adductors without really knowing it, she explains. But what makes the Copenhagen special is that you do not rest your feet or knees on the ground. So what are the techniques to master the Copenhagen plank? This plank variation challenges even the strongest coreand gives runners an extra form boost, too. Not enough exercises really focus on developing groin strength. If youre coming off of a knee injury, or have a history of knee pain, try the regression variations first. How (and Why) to Do Copenhagen Planks - lifehacker.com.au our rundown of the best bodyweight exercises that actually build strength, made male soccer players adductors stronger, Dipping the hips toward the ground and back up, repeatedly (This can be done in either position. Place yourself in a perpendicular position to a bench, in a forearm side plank position, Place your upper leg on top of the bench and keep the bottom one off the floor, Place a mat under your arm to provide more comfort to your elbow, Keep the core engaged to maintain the correct posture, Use a lower bench to further decrease the intensity and support your back, Bend your upper leg on the bench and use that knee as support to reduce the intensity and add stability, Place yourself in a perpendicular position to a bench, in an extended side plank position, Bend the bottom leg on the floor and use the knee as support, Use a mat to put under your leg to provide extra comfort to your knee. But once you master it, according to Mens Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., and fitness editor Brett Williams, N.A.S.M., the Copenhagen plank will provide plenty of core-crushing benefits, especially if you're a runner. Copenhagen Side Plank w/ Leg Lift There's really nothing fancy here. Similar to a side plank, start on your side with the forearm on the ground, hips and shoulders stacked, and legs straight. If your aim is to work on your hip and groin muscles, there are plenty of alternatives to the Copenhagen plank that also focus on the same muscles. To make the Copenhagen adductor plank even harder, you could also switch the support system to a suspended one. From there don't just think about haphazardly lifting the bottom leg towards the top. This will mean as you place your leg on the raised surface, and lift your hips, your back should naturally be nice and straight. In addition to helping run RFS, he's also the head editor for 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. That said, make sure to schedule it for the beginning of your mat workout (the way you want to do dips or pull-ups before getting into the heavy stuff . The Ultimate Test of Strength: The Copenhagen Plank Essentially, athletes who participate in sports with kicking or running are at a higher risk of groin pain, usually in the form of muscle strains or sports hernias. It is an intense exercise that requires a lot of balance and strength to execute correctly. Squeeze your legs together and maintain this position for a few seconds before releasing them back to the starting position. A Copenhagen plank is a side plank variation that involves resting your top leg on a bench or raised surface. Popular with Strength Coaches and Physical Therapists alike, the movement can help improve lumbopelvic stability, core strength, and healthy hip function. Just 10 seconds at a time, over three sets, is a great place to start. If thats you, the first thing to ask is whether you were in a straight line (no hips sagging) with your abdominals engaged. Copenhagen plank - Wiktionary Make sure to progress from the more accessible variations to the more challenging ones as you get stronger. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. 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. Its mainly used to strengthen the groin and hip muscles. How (and Why) to Do Copenhagen Planks - lifehacker.com The goal is to maintain a straight line from your shoulder to your ankle. As well as developing hip strength, the Copenhagen plank is also a great way to activate the core muscles, especially the obliques. You will engage and strengthen your adductor muscles by squeezing your legs together. Lift one arm off the ground and extend it forward while doing the Copenhagen plank for an added challenge. 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. Another way to increase intensity is to perform a Copenhagen plank raise. 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. Additionally, be careful not to overexert yourself start with more accessible variations and work your way up as you get stronger. 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. And trust us, youll first need to make adjustments. But ALSO think about driving or pushing the knee of the top leg INTO the bench or table. The Copenhagen plank lift is a dynamic variation of the Copenhagen plank for adductor strength and hip stability. Having weak groin muscles is huge contributor to groin injuries. 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. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. There's no need to if you're doing it correctly, those are gonna be the longest 25 seconds of your life., As you hold your Copenhagen plank, make sure to avoid rotating your shoulders forward, says Ros. Once you can hold a given position for about 30 seconds, you can increase the difficulty by moving the point of contact on your leg further down, which lengthens the lever and increases the demands on the adductors. Every time you take a stride, you're essentially on the one leg, she explains. Want to master even more moves? How to Do the Copenhagen Plank to Upgrade Your Ab Workout - Men's Health Your bottom leg can be straight if using a chair or bench, or it can be bent if the surface prevents you from straightening the leg, such as when using an ottoman or couch. Start with 10 seconds, then, as the move becomes easier, slowly add a few more seconds at a time, says Ros. Regularly practicing Copenhagen planks, however, can strengthen these key lower-body muscles and help keep injuries at bay. 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. Normally when we think side plank, we prioritize bracing our entire core. Hary et al (2018). A few important technique points: make sure your body is in a straight line, so contract your glute max bring your hips forward and keep your abs engaged so you don't arch your lower back. Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. If done correctly and youre really focusing on what it's targeting [read: the core and thighs], the Copenhagen plank is really hard to hold for even 10 good seconds, says Analisse Ros, C.S.C.S., a certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning specialist in Connecticut. Short Lever Copenhagen Plank - YouTube 0:00 / 0:21 Short Lever Copenhagen Plank The Active Life 9.6K subscribers Subscribe 8.6K views 2 years ago Active Life has helped more than 10,000. How (and Why) to Do Copenhagen Planks - MSN While nutrition plays an important role, adding exercise into your routine improves the process of achieving your goal. The first level is to just hold the plank at the top position. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. There are many studies out there demonstrating the link between weak groin muscles and the prevalence of groin injuries in athletes. Move it out more, and the lever becomes longer and more challenging. As the muscles worked in the Copenhagen plank are mainly those in the inner thigh area. However, jumping from tuck planche to advanced tuck is quite an enormous task ahead. If you want to improve your function and reduce your risk of reinjury, strengthening your quads needs to be your top priority. Eccentric and isometric hip adduction strength in male soccer players with and without adductor-related groin pain: an assessor-blinded comparison. The Copenhagen Plank Works Double Duty as a Core and Inner-Thigh The Ultimate Test of Strength: The Copenhagen Plank. 2016;26(11):1334-1342. 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. Squeeze your thighs to hold this position. Think of these inner thigh muscles like the hamstrings of the frontal plane. 2) Plant your elbow and forearm parallel to the bench, 4) Lift up your hips so youre in a straight line from the ankles to the shoulders. Groin pain has a high prevalence across an array of different sports such as soccer, hockey, lacrosse, football, Rugby, Australian football, and many other activities. Thorborg K, et al. This exercise got its name (and its mild popularity) from research out of Denmark that showed it helps to prevent groin pulls in athletes. What are the techniques to master the Copenhagen Plank?. Why the Copenhagen Plank is a Massively Underrated - Reddit The Copenhagen Hold, as shown below, is a unique plank variation that specifically targets the musculature of the inner groin. Lie on left side of body with left elbow resting on the floor directly beneath left shoulder, both legs extended out to right side, and right arm extended toward ceiling. But instead of stacking or staggering your feet on the floor, youll prop one foot on top of a bench (or couch, chair, or another stable surface that's about 18 inches tall). 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). Some of the most common exercises to target the inner thighs include. 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. I dont need to say much else here because every bodybuilder in history has trained the inner thighs, so obviously theres something to it. The Copenhagen plank, also commonly referred simply as an "adductor side plank", is a fantastic exercise to include into your fitness routine. Thats why she usually starts her clients off with their top knee bent at a 90-degree angle and their knee and calf fully resting on the bench (aka a short lever), she says. Although this may not sound like the most exciting muscle group to strengthen, it is actually incredibly important for healthy functional movement. First up, let's have a look at the anatomy of the groin. So building up the strength of those stabilizer muscles [in your legs and core] is important., Ready to give the exercise a shot? Here's why you should be mixing Copenhagen planks into your routine and how to do so with perfect form. If you want to make the Copenhagen plank more challenging, you can try the following progressions: Take a narrower grip with your hands while doing the Copenhagen plank to increase the intensity. This requires additional balance and stability to maintain the position. Here's the breakdown. 2019;53:145-152. How to do a Copenhagen plank 1. 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. Copenhagen Planks (How To, Muscles Worked, Benefits) One major advantage of the Copenhagen plank is that theres little chance that you'll get bored. One of the primary benefits of the Copenhagen plank: It strengthens your hip abductors and adductors, muscles that are responsible for moving your leg away from or toward, respectively, the midline of your body, says Ros. 1) Set up with your head perpendicular to a bench and facing away. The science has shown that when you have an imbalance between adduction or internal rotation strength of the hip and abduction or external rotation strength of the hip then you are likely to experience groin pain - basically the adductor group isn't as strong as it needs to be to counteract the strength of muscles like glute medius which want to turn your knees outwards. 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. Weve also included ways to progress and regress the movement to help adapt it to your current fitness level. To attack the obliques and get some added value by tapping into the adductors and abductors, a smart modality to implement would be the Copenhagen plank. This means you need to use the inner thigh muscle on that top leg to hold yourself up. 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. David is a writer and strength coach and co-owner of Roman Fitness Systems. Furthermore, it was also shown to elicit the highest activation of the external oblique and rectus abdominis. The bottom leg hangs underneath the bench. The Copenhagen plank, or Copenhagen adduction exercise, is a side plank variation that targets the muscles of the inner thigh and groin- the adductors. Keep your core engaged and stable during the exercise by contracting the muscles in your abdomen. Make sure to maintain proper form with a neutral spine throughout the exercise and stop immediately if you feel any pain or discomfort. Generally, upper-body strengthening and muscle-building resistance exercises can be categorized into two: pushing and pulling exercises. prohockeystrength.com., the official website of the Strength and Conditioning Association of Professional Hockey. In a side plank position, place the top leg on a bench with the bottom leg under the bench. 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. As such, a better name might be the adductor plank, or adductor side plank, but the Copenhagen name has stuck. Copenhagen Plank - Sweat In a 2013 study focused on hip adduction exercises for soccer players . In this article, we will discuss the progressions for mastering the bodyweight dip from complete beginners. As this move is already creating a ton of tension through your glutes and shoulder blades, keeping your free leg raised and in the proper 90 degree position is serious anti-rotation work for your core. Here are some progressions to take your Copenhagen Plank to the next level: Do the regular Copenhagen plank on a Swiss ball for an added challenge. And in any plank exercise, your core is engaged, otherwise your form would be collapsing. You should also strive to keep the legs together, as this will work your leg adductors more efficiently. The Copenhagen plank, or Copenhagen adduction exercise, is a side plank variation that targets the muscles of the inner thigh and groin- the adductors. It is a difficult move that requires you to hold yourself up in an isometric contraction while focusing on firing the adductor muscles. Remember the Copenhagen keys: maintain stability and squeeze your glutes and shoulder blades while fighting off rotation in both directions. This pain can range from mild discomfort to outright agony and can be exacerbated by physical activity. The main technique for mastering the Copenhagen Plank exercise is to keep your core and glutes tight. Ishoi et al in 2016 had 24 male soccer players perform the Copenhagen adduction exercise two times a week, while progressively increasing the number of sets and repetitions over the course of 8 weeks (starting with 2 sets of 6 each and ending with 3 sets of 15 each). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); All Content Copyright Roman Fitness Systems 2019. Copenhagen Plank can cause strain on the lower back if done incorrectly. Imagine your heels, butt, and back of your head are all touching a wall and your body forms a straight line in order to get the most benefit out of the exercise, she suggests. The proper form for Copenhagen plank involves squeezing your legs together, keeping your core engaged and stable, breathing normally throughout the exercise, and keeping your shoulders in line with your chest.