Copenhagen plank

The Copenhagen plank is a side plank with the top leg resting on a bench. That makes the inner thigh lift the bottom leg, instead of the core alone holding you up.

It is one of the few exercises that loads the inner thigh and the side of the core together, and it is harder than it looks. Many people need to start with a shorter lever.

Sets, reps and RIR

Load is fixed, so progress by adding reps first, then by slowing the lowering phase, then by adding weight.

RIR means reps in reserve: how many you could still have done when you racked it. RIR 2 is two short of failure.

How to do it

1. Lie on your side with your elbow right under your shoulder and your forearm on the floor. Put the top leg on a bench, with the knee or the foot on the edge.
2. Lift your hips until your body makes a straight line from shoulder to ankle. The bottom leg hangs free under the bench.
3. Draw your stomach in and keep the shoulder stable. Do not let it sink toward the floor.
4. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds. To make it harder, lift the bottom leg up to the bench and lower it with control.
5. Switch sides. Hold the same time on both.

Common mistakes

The hips sink

When the hip drops toward the floor, the core rests and the inner thigh stops working. Press the hip back up, even if the set gets shorter.

The upper body rolls forward

Shoulder and chest should stay stacked. If you rotate, the load moves from the side of the core to the shoulder and lower back.

The bench is too high

If the bench is higher than your knee, you lose control. Start with the knee on the bench, not the foot, until you can hold 30 seconds.

How it differs from the neighbouring variants

A regular side plank keeps both legs on the floor and trains the side of the core. The Copenhagen plank takes away the bottom support and puts the work on the inner thigh, so it is harder for the same time.

If your shoulder complains, start with a side plank on your knee and build to the Copenhagen over a few weeks.

What it suits

It suits you if you want a stronger inner thigh and side core, for example for football, ice hockey and running. It is an assistance exercise, not a main lift, so two to three sets after the main work is enough.

Muscles worked

Primary: Adductors, Obliques.

Secondary: Abs.

What it is called elsewhere

• Norsk Copenhagen-planke
• Svenska Copenhagen-planka
• Dansk Copenhagen-planke
• Deutsch Copenhagen Plank
• Español Plancha Copenhague
• Italiano Plank di Copenaghen
• Português Prancha de Copenhague
• Русский Копенгагенская планка
• Français Planche de Copenhague

Related core exercises

• Cable crunch
• Pallof press
• Cable woodchopper
• Crunch (machine)
• Rotary torso (machine)
• Dumbbell side bend

athlate logs this exercise, keeps the numbers, and tells you what you lifted last time.