Duration exercise

Copenhagen Plank form, muscles worked, and workout tracking

The Copenhagen plank is a side plank variation with the top leg supported on a bench, loading the hip adductors of the supporting leg intensely alongside the obliques and lateral trunk stabilizers. It is best known from sports-medicine research on groin-injury prevention in field athletes, and lifters also use timed holds to strengthen the often-neglected adductors for squatting depth and change-of-direction work.

How to do Copenhagen Plank

1Lie on your side beside a flat bench and place the inside of your top foot or lower leg on the bench, with your forearm on the floor under your shoulder.
2Brace your core and lift your hips and bottom leg off the floor until your body forms a straight line from head to top foot.
3Squeeze the inner thigh of the top leg to hold your body up; do not let your hips sag toward the floor or rotate forward.
4Keep your neck long and breathe in steady, controlled cycles throughout the hold.
5Hold for the prescribed time, then lower your hips to the floor under control and repeat on the other side; shorten the lever by supporting the knee if the full version is too demanding.