How to do it
How do you do the Copenhagen Plank?
- Lie on your side beside a bench and rest the inside of your top ankle on it.
- Put your elbow under your shoulder and your top hand on your hip.
- Press your top foot into the bench and lift your hips until your body is straight.
- Lift your bottom leg to meet the bench and hold, then lower and switch sides.
Cues
- Press the top foot down.
- Straight line, head to feet.
- Hips stacked, do not roll.
Common mistakes
- Hips sagging: press harder through the top foot and lift them back into line.
- Knee discomfort: rest the top knee on the bench instead of the ankle.
- Rolling forward: keep your top hip directly above the bottom one.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
The version in our demo
Long-lever static hold on the right forearm: top (left) leg straight with the inside of the ankle and foot on a flat bench, bottom (right) leg lifted to meet the bench from below, body straight. The short-lever version (knee on the bench) is the regression for anyone who feels it in the inside of the knee; not shown.
Starting position
Lying on the right side beside a flat bench (seat about 40–45 cm high), body at right angles to the bench. Left leg straight, the inner ankle and inside edge of the foot resting on the bench, knee unsupported in the air. Right forearm on the floor with the elbow directly under the right shoulder, forearm pointing forward. Left hand on the left hip. Right leg straight under the bench, hip on the floor.
The movement
Press the top foot down into the bench and lift the hips until the body forms one straight line from head to feet, then lift the bottom leg up until it meets the underside of the bench beside the top leg. Hold. The pelvis stays stacked (no rolling forward or back), and the top-down view also shows a straight line from head to feet.
Breathing
Steady breaths through the hold; breathe out as the hips lift.
Tempo
Real sets: 15–60 s holds per side, 1–3 sets.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
- Front view: pelvis rotation under 5°; shoulders, hips and feet stacked.
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Copenhagen Plank is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
